The list of finalists for enshrinement into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame has been announced and there is a trifecta of former WNBA players among that list.
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The headliner of that trio is Sheryl Swoopes, who last year was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Swoopes averaged 16 points for her career and was the centerpiece of the Houston Comets’ dynasty throughout the late 1990s. The Comets won four WNBA championships from 1997 to 2000.
She was also a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time MVP, and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Swoopes also has the distinction of being the first WNBA player with her own shoe line.
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Also on that list is Kara Wolters, who is the all-time leading rebounder and shot blocker at the women’s basketball factory that is UConn.
Her WNBA career included stints with the Houston Comets, Indiana Fever, and Sacramento Monarchs. She was part of the 1999 Comets team that won the title that year.
Wolters averaged nearly 12 points per game in 2000 with the Fever and was also part of the 2000 USA Basketball Women’s National Team that won a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics.
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Another one of the finalists is Crystal Robinson, who was a two-time All-Star with the American Basketball League and also was its Rookie of the Year in 1996-97.
She ascended to the professional ranks after playing four years in college for Southeastern Oklahoma State. Her WNBA career was primarily spent with the New York Liberty, but Robinson’s last two years were spent with the Washington Mystics.
For her career, she averaged just over 10 points per game, including a high of 12.1 in 2004 with the Liberty.
Also among the finalists are Nora Lynn Finch, who negotiated the first women’s basketball contract with CBS, Sally Bell who officiated 15 NCAA Women’s Final Fours, and Christine Grant—a founding member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.
By: Akiem Bailum (@AkiemBailum on Twitter, Instagram)
