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2026 Leaf Sports HeroesCertified Authentic Autograph
CYNTHIA COOPER
HOF Point Guard
As player:4× WNBA champion (1997–2000)4× WNBA Finals MVP (1997–2000)2× WNBA MVP (1997, 1998)3× WNBA All-Star (1999, 2000, 2003)4× All-WNBA First Team (1997–2000)3× WNBA scoring champion (1997–1999)WNBA anniversary teams (10th, 15th, 20th, 25th)2× NCAA champion (1983, 1984)State of California Division 4A Girls High School Basketball Champion | Locke High School (1981)No. 14 retired by Houston CometsNo. 44 retired by USC TrojansAs coach:
2× SWAC Coach of the Year (2007, 2009)CAA Coach of the Year (2011)
Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke (born April 14, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) is a basketball coach and former player who has won championships at every level of competition: in high school, at Locke High School in Los Angeles, California; in college, at USC; in the Olympics; and in the Women\'s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is considered to be one of the greatest female basketball players ever. Upon the WNBA\'s formation, she played for the Houston Comets from 1997 to 2000, being named the Most Valuable Player of the WNBA Finals in four straight seasons.
Cooper served as the coach of the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA from 2001 to 2002. In the NCAA, she was college coach for UNC Wilmington, Prairie View A&M, Texas Southern, and USC between 2005 and 2022.
Cooper-Dyke was inducted into the Women\'s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. She has been member of every WNBA Anniversary Team (10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th) since their creation. In 2011, Cooper was voted by fans as one of the top 15 players in WNBA history.
