Sheryl Denise Swoopes was the first player to be signed by a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team when the league was created in 1996. Referred to as the “female Michael Jordan,” she is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. She has won three WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, four WNBA titles as a member of the Houston Comets, three Olympic gold medals, an NCAA Championship, and a FIBA world cup gold.
Swoopes was born in Brownfield, Texas, and was talented at her sport from the beginning, already competing in tournaments by the age of seven. After playing basketball at Brownfield High School she enrolled at South Plains College, where she was named the 1991 national Junior College Player of the Year. After two years at South Plains, she transferred to Texas Tech University.
While at Texas Tech, Swoopes won the Naismith College Player of the Year award in her senior season by leading the Lady Raiders to the 1993 NCAA national championship. Her jersey was retired by the school the following year, making her one of only three Lady Raiders to be honored in this way. She still holds the school record for highest career scoring average and most points in a season.
In 1994, Swoopes was named to the USA national team and competed in the World Championships in Sydney, Australia. She also competed with the national team at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics (winning gold in all three) and the 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006 World Championships (winning gold in 1998 and 2002, and bronze in 1994 and 2006).
Swoopes joined the Houston Comets of the WNBA during the 1997 inaugural season and helped the team win that season’s WNBA title. Swoopes and the Comets won three more championships in the next three years, and Swoopes won the league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards three times each.
Swoopes played with the Seattle Storm in 2008 and the Tulsa Shock in 2011 before becoming an unrestricted free agent after the 2011 season. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, and, the following year, returned to Texas Tech University, serving as director of player development for the women’s basketball team before being named an assistant coach.
In October 2005, Swoopes announced she was gay, becoming one of the highest-profile athletes in a team sport to do so publicly. Swoopes said, "it doesn't change who I am. I can't help who I fall in love with. No one can. . . Discovering I'm gay just sort of happened much later in life. . . I'm a firm believer that when you fall in love with somebody, you can't control that." In 2006, Swoopes was named an LGBT History Month Icon by the Equality Forum.