Sheryl Swoopes - The Shoes
BASKETBALL - WNBA - OLYMPIAN
ARCHETYPE: THE SHOES
Day 105/135
Athletic Accomplishments
Sheryl Swoopes is not only the first player to ever sign with the WNBA. She is, to this very day, still one of the best players in WNBA history.
Swoopes started playing basketball with her three older brothers at age 7. She developed her multi-dimensional game throughout her youth, then stuck close to home for college, going to South Plains College for two years, where she was a two-time All-American, before transferring to Texas Tech.
In 1993, as a senior, Swoopes led Texas Tech to an NCAA championship and won the Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Honda Sports Award, WBCA Player of the Year, and Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation. Not a bad year, huh?
In 1996, Swoopes started for Team USA at the Olympic Games, leading the team to their first gold medal. Swoopes would win another two golds with the team in 2000 and 2004, as well.
The following year, 1997, was the inaugural WNBA season. Swoopes had just given birth to her son, and six weeks later, she was back on the court and leading the Comets to the first ever WNBA Championship. But that surely wouldn’t be the last… The Comets won four consecutive WNBA titles, from 1997 to 2000.
Throughout her career, Swoopes dominated offensively and defensively. She was a three-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time WNBA MVP, and racked up over 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, and 200 steals in her career.
Here are just some highlights from Swoopes’ impressive career:
6× WNBA All-Star (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006)
WNBA All-Star Game MVP (2005)
5× All-WNBA First Team (1998–2000, 2002, 2005)
3× WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2000, 2002, 2003)
3× WNBA MVP (2000, 2002, 2005)
2× WNBA scoring champion (2000, 2005)
2× WNBA steals leader (2000, 2003)
WNBA Peak Performer (2005)
WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time (2011)
In 2011, at age 40, Swoopes was still playing in the WNBA, for the Tulsa Shock. In 2013, she was hired as head coach of Loyola University Chicago’s women’s basketball team, but was fired in 2016 after an investigation into allegations of mistreatment.
In 2017, Swoopes was hired at her alma mater, as the Director of Player Development at Texas Tech. She has since been promoted to assistant coach.
Character Archetype: The Shoes
Sheryl Swoopes had it all. A four-time WNBA champion, three-time WNBA MVP, and three-time Olympic gold medalist. The game AND the name. I mean, come on. Swoopes? It’s like she was born to ball.
Her Airness was the first women’s player to get a signature shoe, with Nike selling seven runs of Air Swoopes, starting in 1996. But since then, we’ve not seen WNBA stars get the star treatment. Recently, Breanna Stewart switched from Nike to Puma, and Puma announced that Breanna Stewart will be getting a signature shoe. But Nike — where we at with the Air Taurasis? What are y’all waiting for?
Ultimately, it all comes down to gender norms and men — over 50% of the sneaker-buying market — becoming more comfortable and less insecure about supporting and repping women. Admitting, confidently, that they admire the women’s game enough to emulate a Sheryl Swoopes and wear her sneakers. Because until enough men are excited about buying Air Taurasis or Air Aaris, Nike’s clearly in no rush to make or promote them.
Which is why men enthusiastically wearing the orange WNBA hoodies is a big ass deal. I’m not asking for crumbs or pandering. It’s just that marketing matters. Endorsements matter. Dads, brothers, friends, and average guys showing support for women’s sports? It matters.
I’m saying it clearly, in case you didn’t realize it before. If you spend your dollars and your time supporting the women’s game, it matters.