Topic: Tina Thompson

Tina Marie Thompson (born February 10, 1975 in Los Angeles, California) is a professional basketball player in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks. The first draft pick in WNBA history, Thompson was selected first by the Houston Comets. She helped lead the Comets to four WNBA Championships. She has won two Olympic Gold Medals and has made 9 WNBA All-Star Game appearances, the most recent being 2009. She is second in the most points scored in WNBA history, behind Lisa Leslie (5,865).

Tina grew up playing basketball with her brother TJ and his friends at Robertson Park in West Los Angeles, California. She recorded more than 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in her high school career at Morningside High School in Inglewood, California, where she also played volleyball. She then went on to play basketball at the University of Southern California, where she graduated in 1997. She attended both high school and college with fellow WNBA player Lisa Leslie.

Thompson became a member of the Houston Comets dynasty that won four consecutive WNBA championships from 1997-2000. She was selected #1 overall in round 1 of the 1997 WNBA draft. Thompson is a nine-time All-Star, winning MVP honors at the 2000 All-Star Game. She led all Western Conference players in All-Star voting in 2001. Thompson has been named to the All-WNBA First Team three times (1997, 1998, 2004) and All-WNBA Second Team four times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002).