The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Tina Thompson a finalist for Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame
02.17.2018 | Women's Basketball
Thompson, who is in her third season on the Texas coaching staff, was the first overall pick in the inaugural WNBA Draft.
University of Texas Women's Basketball associate head coach Tina Thompson has been named a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced Saturday during NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.
Enshrinement festivities will take place in Springfield, Mass., September 6-8, 2018. The entire Class of 2018, including those selected by the direct elect committees, will be unveiled during the NCAA Men's Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.
It was recently announced that Thompson has been selected for induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2018.
Thompson, who is in her third season on the Texas coaching staff, was the first overall pick in the inaugural WNBA Draft, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a four-time WNBA Champion. She works directly with the Longhorns' post players.
Throughout her 17-year professional playing career, Thompson was a four-time WNBA champion with the Houston Comets (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000), a member of the WNBA All-Decade team, an eight-time All-WNBA team selection, a nine-time WNBA All-Star, and the WNBA All-Star MVP in 2000.
After 12 seasons in Houston, the Los Angeles native returned to her hometown in 2009 as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks. She became the WNBA's all-time leading scorer on August 8, 2010, scoring her 6,264th career point to pass Lisa Leslie -- a former teammate of Thompson's at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.
Thompson ended her professional career with the Seattle Storm in 2013 as the league's all-time leading scorer with 7,488 points in 496 games played (15.1 ppg). She still remains the league's second-leading all-time scorer behind Diana Taurasi (7,867 points).
On the international level, Thompson has won two Olympic Gold Medals as a member of Team USA in 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing). She has also participated in other professional leagues overseas. Following the 2001 WNBA season, Tina played for Rovereto Basket in Italy and in 2003 she joined the Kumho Falcons of the Women's Korea Basketball League (WKBL). In 2006 and 2007, she played for Spartak Moscow Region (Euro league) and in 2010 for the MCM Târgovişte in Romania.
Thompson played collegiately at the University of Southern California (1993-1997) where she helped USC compile a 77-37 record, and led the team to three NCAA tournament appearances (1994, 1995, 1997), including an Elite Eight appearance in 1994.
A three-time All-Pac 10 selection at USC, Thompson was a second-team All-American as a senior in 1997. She finished fifth on the university's career lists in scoring (2,248 points) and (1,168 rebounds).
Thompson graduated from USC in 1997 with a degree in sociology and a minor in psychology.
In her first year in Austin, Thompson was responsible for the development of center Imani McGee-Stafford, who earned honorable mention All-America honors from both the Associated Press and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. In 2015-16, McGee-Stafford became the first player in program history to reach the combined milestone of 1,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 200 career blocks. McGee-Stafford was the fourth player in school history to be drafted in the first round of the WNBA Draft, going to the Chicago Sky with the 10th overall pick in 2016. She was a member of the AP's five-member WNBA All-Rookie Team in 2016. McGee-Stafford completed her second season in the WNBA with the Atlanta Dream in 2017.
Thompson was also responsible for the development of Kelsey Lang who was a 2016-17 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, earned CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors and was a top-30 finalist for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. Lang finished her UT career fifth all-time in games played (138), sixth in blocked shots (190) and 36th in scoring (1,086).
Texas has posted a 77-18 (.811) record since Thompson's arrival on the Forty Acres.
2018 North American Committee and Women's Committee Finalists
Ray Allen
Maurice Cheeks
Lefty Driesell
Hugh Evans
Grant Hill
Jason Kidd
Steve Nash
Rudy Tomjanovich
Chris Webber
Kim Mulkey
Katie Smith
Tina Thompson
Wayland Baptist University
