Autographed Nike Air Swoopes sneaker

Legendary basketball player Sheryl Swoopes, a native of Brownfield, Texas, led the NCAA and WNBA during her 30-year career. The guard/forward was also on three USA Olympic teams, winning consecutive gold medals in 1996, 2000, and 2004.

A two-time All American at Texas Tech University, Swoopes led the Red Raiders to the NCAA Division I National Championship in 1992–93, scoring 47 points in the title championship. She originally played two years of college basketball at South Plains College before transferring to Texas Tech University in 1991. There, she averaged an impressive 24.9 points per game. She was named the Naismith College Player of the Year that same season and her number 22 jersey was retired in February 1994.

In 1995, Nike released the Air Swoopes, making Sheryl Swoopes the first female athlete to have a Nike shoe named after them. Swoopes said of the shoes, “My hope is that it opened doors for young girls. It’s important that I continue to be that light little girls can look at and say ‘Look at where she came from and look at where she’s going.’”

Drafted by the Houston Comets in 1997, the inaugural season of the WNBA, Swoopes helped make the team into a dynasty. Led by three future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers — Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, and Cynthia Cooper — and head coach Van Chancellor, the Comets captured the first four WNBA championships. Swoopes was a dominant player in the WNBA’s early years, being named MVP in 2000, 2002, and 2005.

After retiring from play, Swoopes held coaching positions at Loyola University and Texas Tech University and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.