Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon (born December 8, 1965) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). She played for the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was ...

and

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was fou ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA) and served as the head basketball coach of the

Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and Lady Techsters, commonly abbreviated La. Tech and Dawgs, refer to the sports teams of Louisiana Tech University, in Ruston, Louisiana. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Since 2013, Louisiana Tech has bee ...

. Weatherspoon was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...

in 2010, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. In 2016, Weatherspoon was chosen to the

WNBA Top 20@20 WNBA Top 20@20 are the Women's National Basketball Association's Top 20 Players of All Time, chosen in 2016 on the occasion of the twentieth season of the WNBA from amongst 60 nominees compiled by the league. The group was to comprise the 20 best a ...

, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.

Playing and coaching career

Born in

Pineland, Texas Pineland is a city in Sabine County, Texas, United States. The population was 888 at the 2020 census. Geography Pineland is located at (31.248094, –93.974688). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of w ...

, Weatherspoon was a health and physical education major and star basketball player at

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

. In 1988, her senior season, she led the Lady Techsters to the NCAA national title. After college, Weatherspoon played overseas in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

for 8 years. Weatherspoon is one of the original players of the WNBA in 1997 when she joined the

in the WNBA's inaugural season. A talented ball-handler and charismatic leader, her energetic play quickly endeared her to the fans and media in New York. In 1997 she was the first winner of the league's Defensive Player of the Year Award. She won the title again in 1998. During the 1999 WNBA Finals, Weatherspoon had one of the most memorable feats in WNBA history; in Game 2, the Liberty were down 67–65 against the Houston Comets with no timeouts left and 2.4 seconds left on the game clock after a shot made by Tina Thompson. After receiving the inbound pass, Weatherspoon dribbled the ball up to half court and made a game-winning shot 50 feet away from the basket to force a Game 3. That moment would later be referred to as "The Shot". Up until the 2003 season, she held the distinction of being the only WNBA player to start every one of her games. After the 2003 season, she was not re-signed by the

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

and signed with the

. After her 2004 season with the Sparks, Weatherspoon retired. In 2007 Weatherspoon was the head coach of the Westchester Phantoms of the American Basketball Association. In April 2008 she joined the coaching staff of the Lady Techsters of

. On February 9, 2009, she was promoted to interim head coach to replace former head coach Chris Long. April 2, 2009 saw Louisiana Tech shed the interim label and name Teresa head women's basketball coach. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the fifteen-year history of the WNBA. In 2016, Weatherspoon was named in the

. On September 26, 2019, Weatherspoon was named two-way player development coach for the

. Weatherspoon was later promoted to a full-time assistant coach for the Pelicans on November 16, 2020.

National team career

Weatherspoon was selected to represent the US at the inaugural Goodwill games, held in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

in July 1986.

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The unive ...

Kay Yow Sandra Kay Yow (March 14, 1942 – January 24, 2009) was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 c ...

served as head coach. The team opened up with a 72–53 of Yugoslavia, and followed that with a 21-point win over Brazil 91–70. The third game was against Czechoslovakia and would be much closer, ending in a 78–70 victory. The USA faced Bulgaria in the semi-final match up, and again won, this time 67–58. This set up the final against the Soviet Union, led by 7-foot-2 Ivilana Semenova, considered the most dominant player in the world. The Soviet team, had a 152–2 record in major international competition over the prior three decades, including an 84–82 win over the US in the 1983 World Championships. The Soviets held the early edge, leading 21–19 at one time, before the USA went on a scoring run to take a large lead they would never relinquish. The final score was 83–60 in favor of the US, earning the gold medal for the USA squad. For the entire event, Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon averaged 1.6 points per game. Weatherspoon continued with the National team at the 1986 World Championship, held in Moscow, a month after the Goodwill games in Moscow, although she was injured and unable to play. The USA team was even more dominant this time. The early games were won easily, and the semifinal against Canada, while the closest game for the USA so far, ended up an 82–59 victory. At the same time, the Soviet team was winning easily as well, and the final game pitted two teams each with 6–0 records. The Soviet team, having lost only once at home, wanted to show that the Goodwill games setback was a fluke. The USA team started by scoring the first eight points, and raced to a 45–23 lead, although the Soviets fought back and reduced the halftime margin to 13. The USA went on a 15–1 run in the second half to put the game away, and ended up winning the gold medal with a score of 108–88. Weatherspoon was selected to be a member of the team representing the US at the 1987 World University Games held in

Zagreb, Yugoslavia Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. The USA team won four of the five contests. After winning their first two games against Poland and Finland, the USA faced the host team Yugoslavia. The game went to overtime, but Yugoslavia prevailed, 93–89. The USA faced China in the next game. They won 84–83, but they needed to win by at least five points to remain in medal contention. They won the final game against Canada to secure fifth place. Weatherspoon averaged 8.6 points per games. She recorded 21 steals over the course of the event, tied for first place on the team.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Weatherspoon was born to Charles and Rowena Weatherspoon in

. Her father, Charles Sr., played minor league baseball in the Minnesota Twins' farm system, and holds the record for the most grand slams (3) in a minor league game. Weatherspoon has two brothers and three sisters. She credits her family, especially her mother Rowena Weatherspoon, as the biggest influence on her basketball career. Her fans call her by her nicknames "T-Spoon" or "Spoon". She and former Atlanta Falcons

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Sean Weatherspoon Franklin De'Sean "Sean" Weatherspoon (born December 29, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at the University of Missouri, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the 19th overall pick in the 2010 N ...

are second cousins. In 1999, she published a book titled ''Teresa Weatherspoon's Basketball for Girls'', filled with anecdotes and advice on improving basketball skills for young girls.

Career highlights

* WNBA no. 2 all-time in career assists * Led the

to the first ever WNBA Finals in 1997 and again in 1999 * Started in the first five WNBA All-Star games (1999–2003 ) * All-WNBA Second Team (1997–2000) * WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (1997, 1998) * Hit a memorable court to court shot to tie the WNBA Finals series with the Houston Comets in 1999 * Started all her WNBA games up until the 2003 season * Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2019

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 28 , , 28 , , 33.0 , , .467 , , .086 , , .650 , , 4.1 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 6.2° , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 3.0° , , .1 , , 3.4 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 30 , , 30 , , 33.4 , , .388 , , .327 , , .609 , , 4.0 , , 6.4 , , style="background:#e0cef2;", 3.3 , , .0 , , 3.2 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 32 , , 32 , , 33.9 , , .421 , , .378 , , .679 , , 3.3 , , 6.4 , , 2.4 , , .1 , , 2.5 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 32 , , 32 , , 33.7 , , .438 , , .250 , , .741 , , 3.4 , , 6.4 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , 2.7 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 32 , , 32 , , 30.4 , , .431 , , .385 , , .671 , , 3.7 , , 6.3 , , 1.7 , , .1 , , 2.5 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 32 , , 32 , , 29.8 , , .342 , , .100 , , .519 , , 2.7 , , 5.7 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 2.4 , , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 34 , , 34 , , 24.2 , , .385 , , .000 , , .750 , , 2.9 , , 4.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , 1.8 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, 34 , , 0 , , 8.6 , , .320 , , .333 , , , , .9 , , .9 , , .4 , , .0 , , .8 , , .5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 254 , , 220 , , 28.1 , , .411 , , .281 , , .658 , , 3.1 , , 5.3 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 2.4 , , 5.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, style="text-align:left;", New York , 2 , , 2 , , 37.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , 5.0 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , 6.0 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, style="text-align:left;", New York , 6 , , 6 , , 33.8 , , .452 , , .368 , , .750 , , 3.5 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 7.5° , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, style="text-align:left;", New York , 7 , , 7 , , 36.1 , , .353 , , .200 , , .636 , , 2.7 , , style="background:#d3d3d3;", 7.0° , , 2.7 , , .0 , , 2.9 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001 , style="text-align:left;", New York , 6 , , 6 , , 33.0 , , .211 , , .273 , , 1.000 , , 3.7 , , 4.7 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , .8 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002 , style="text-align:left;", New York , 8 , , 8 , , 30.1 , , .475 , , .000 , , .833 , , 4.4 , , 6.6 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 1.8 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 1.5 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 31 , , 29 , , 31.6 , , .382 , , .282 , , .744 , , 3.3 , , 6.0 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 2.1 , , 5.5

College

Source

Awards and honors

As a basketball player: * 1986 World Championships Gold Medalist (with Team USA) * 1986 Goodwill Games Gold Medalist (with Team USA) * 1987 World University Games Gold Medalist (with Team USA) * 1988 Olympic Games Gold Medalist (with Team USA) * 1988

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State University coac ...

* 1988 Honda Sports Award for basketball * 1988

Honda-Broderick Cup The Honda-Broderick Cup is a sports award for college-level female athletes. The awards are voted on by a national panel of more than 1000 collegiate athletic directors. It was first presented by Tom Broderick, an American owner of a women's sport ...

winner for all sports * 1992 Olympic Games Bronze Medalist (with Team USA) * 2010 Inducted into the

as part of the class of 2010 * 2010 Inducted into the

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is located in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum – Natchitoches in a new facility in the downtown historic district in Natchitoches, Louisiana. After years of planning and con ...

* 2011 Inducted into the New York Liberty Ring of Honor * 2011 Named one of top 15 WNBA Players of All-Time * 2019 Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame * 2020 Inducted into the

Texas Sports Hall of Fame The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction (baseball ...

As head coach of Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters: * 2009 WAC Regular Season Champions * 2009 WNIT Second Round * 2010 WAC Tournament Champions * 2010 NCAA Tournament * 2010 Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year * 2011 WAC Regular Season Champions * 2011 NCAA Tournament * 2011 WBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year

References

External links

New York Post- Liberty Team Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weatherspoon, Teresa 1965 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Russia American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Texas Los Angeles Sparks players Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball coaches Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball players Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New Orleans Pelicans assistant coaches New York Liberty players Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in basketball Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball People from Pineland, Texas Point guards Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women United States women's national basketball team players