WNBA Honors Cynthia Cooper As One Of Its 25 Greatest Players Ever

Texas Southern head women’s basketball coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke was recently named by the WNBA as a member of the “The W25”, a collection of the 25 greatest and most influential players in WNBA history. The announcement was made live on ABC Sunday afternoon as the league is launching the first-ever “Vote for the GOAT” program.

A four-time champion with the Comets, Cooper earned four Finals MVP honors and was a two-time regular-season MVP. As a member of the Comets, Cooper electrified the city of Houston during her tenure as she led the league in scoring in three different seasons and was a three-time All-Star. Cooper averaged 21.0 points and 4.9 assists for her career. The Basketball Hall of Famer began her professional career overseas and played 10 seasons in Spain and Italy. She returned to the United States in 1997 to play with the Houston Comets of the newly-formed WNBA.

Cooper joined the Texas Southern family in 2012 and led the team to a 20-12 record and a WNIT berth. She returned to TSU in 2019 and led TSU to a second-place finish (14-4 SWAC). In addition, TSU had one of its best preseason performances in program history with five wins over teams from mid-major conferences. During the month of December, TSU’s NCAA RPI rating was 62 and was the fourth-highest RPI in the state of Texas.

Starting at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 5, fan voting for “The W25” will begin on social media (instructions below). Voting will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 11:59 p.m. (EST) / 10:59 p.m. CST. The GOAT will be unveiled during the WNBA Finals 2021 presented by YouTube TV.

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS

·      Com voting page at wnba.com/goatvote: Fans can fill out one ballot per day (per day is defined as once every 24 hours) on WNBA.com/goatvote from a desktop or mobile browser.

·      WNBA App: Fans can access the ballot through both the “Latest” and “More” tabs on the WNBA App, which is available on Android and iOS. Fans can fill out one ballot per day.

·      Twitter: Fans can tweet in their votes for their favorite player with the below criteria:

An eligible vote consists of:

1.     The campaign hashtag (e.g.: #WNBAGoatVote) with the player name from The W25 list with or without a space (e.g.: Cynthia Cooper or CynthiaCooper) or
2.     The W25 player’s Twitter handle (e.g. @AllDecade14)

Example of a Valid Vote: I just voted Cynthia Cooper for the #WNBAGoatVote or I just voted for @AllDecade14 for the #WNBAGoatVote

Retweets will count as a valid vote