Swoopes Wins WNBA MVP

By
Michael A. Lutz
January 7, 2006, 5:09 AM ET
3 min read

H O U S T O N, Aug. 17, 2000 -- Houston Comets forward Sheryl Swoopesaccomplished just about everything she set her mind to this seasonbut she couldn’t keep from crying today as she accepted the WNBAtrophy as the league’s most valuable player.

Swoopes, a 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, was the first WNBA playersigned in 1997 but she immediately went on maternity leave andplayed sparingly her first season.

She started her pro career with defensive deficiencies butimproved so much that on Tuesday she was named the league’sdefensive player of the year after winning the league’s scoringtitle for the first time.

Getting the MVP trophy on top of all that brought out theemotions.

“It seems like when I think things can’t get any better, theyget better,” Swoopes said. “I have a lot of people to thank. Theone thing I said, if I won the MVP trophy I wasn’t going to cry.”

The Voting

Swoopes received 527 points and 38 first place votes to edge LosAngeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie, the team and player the Cometsfaced Thursday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

Leslie got 450 votes as the runner-up. Yolanda Griffith ofSacramento was third with 224 points and Natalie Williams of Utahfourth with 125 points. Cynthia Cooper, a two-time MVP winner, andTina Thompson, both of Houston, finished fifth and sixth.

Swoopes said her slow start in the WNBA because of her pregnancyand the four years of hard work to reach the top made winning theMVP special.

“There were a lot of expectations placed on some of us whenthis league was started, Rebeca Lobo and Lisa Leslie too,” Swoopessaid. “To help the Houston Comets win three titles and then winthis, that’s makes it very special for me.”

Passes ‘Wow’ Test

WNBA President Val Ackerman said Swoopes passed the “Wow”test.

“When you go to a game and see a shot, a play or a playercoming through, you say ‘did you see that? Wow,’” Ackerman said. “This year it seems that Sheryl Swoopes and ‘wow’ were pretty much synonymous.”

Swoopes averaged 20.7 points in the 2000 season, taking theleague scoring title from Cooper, who won it the first threeseasons of the WNBA. Leading the WNBA with 2.81 steals per gamehelped Swoopes win her defensive honor. She also had 3.8 assists1.06 blocked shots and 6.3 rebounds.

“The one thing that could make this greater would be to beatL.A.,” Swoopes said. “At this time of year, the real players taketheir games to another level and that’s one thing that my teammatesand I will have to do.”