Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw (born August 9, 1977) is an American former professionalbasketball player in theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[1] She announced her retirement from the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, 2007,[2] though she eventually came out of retirement to play with theAtlanta Dream for the 2009 WNBA Season. Holdsclaw was inducted into theNYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015,[3] and theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.[4]
Holdsclaw grew up playing basketball. While attendingChrist the King Regional High School inQueens, New York, she played for the school's women's basketball team, and led them to four straight New York State Championships in basketball. Holdsclaw was named a High School All-American by theWomen's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).[5] She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game in 1995, scoring eight points.[6]
Holdsclaw went to theUniversity of Tennessee from 1995 to 1999, where she played under coachPat Summitt and helped to lead the Lady Vols to the women's NCAA's first ever three consecutiveWomen's Basketball Championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The 1998 championship was Tennessee's first ever undefeated season at 39–0 and also set an NCAA record for the most wins ever in a season. She also helped lead Tennessee to two SEC regular season titles in 1998 and 1999 and to three SEC tournament championships in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
At Tennessee, Holdsclaw was a four-time Kodak All-America, one of only six women's basketball players to earn the honor (along with teammateTamika Catchings,Cheryl Miller ofUSC,Ann Meyers ofUCLA,Lynette Woodard ofKansas andLaToya Thomas ofMississippi State.) Holdsclaw finished her career with 3,025 points and 1,295 rebounds, making her the all-time leading scoring and rebounder at Tennessee in men's or women's history, the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in SEC women's history, and the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in the NCAA tournament women's history with 470 points and 197 rebounds. She was also only the fifth women's basketball player inNCAA history to have 3,000 points (a list includingJackie Stiles ofSouthwest Missouri State,Patricia Hoskins ofMississippi Valley State,Lorri Bauman ofDrake,Cheryl Miller of USC, andCindy Blodgett ofMaine). She is also one of five women's collegiate basketball players to ever accumulate over 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 300 steals (a list that includes teammateTamika Catchings,Cheryl Miller ofUSC,Sophia Young ofBaylor, andArmintie Price ofMississippi.) In 1998, Holdsclaw received theJames E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Holdsclaw also won the Naismith trophy for player of the year twice, in 1998 and 1999, and posted a 131–17 win–loss record during her remarkable career as a Lady Vol. In 2000, she was named Naismith's Player of the Century for the 1990s and was also part of anESPY award given to the Lady Vols as Co-Team of the Decade for the 1990s. In 1996, 1997, and 1998, Holdsclaw was named to the Final Four All Tournament team.[7]
In 2006, Holdsclaw was named to a women's collegiate basketball silver anniversary team for being picked as one of the 25 greatest players of the past 25 years. She was also picked as one of the 5 greatest players in the SEC of the past 25 years.
Holdsclaw is a member ofAlpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
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In the1999 WNBA draft, Holdsclaw was selected by theWashington Mystics 1st overall.[8] After this selection, Holdsclaw gained the distinction of being the first female athlete to appear on the cover ofSLAM magazine. Furthermore, Holdsclaw was pictured in aNew York Knicks jersey, implying that perhaps she was good enough to play in the NBA.
In her first season, she was named theRookie of the Year, the first number one draft pick to win that honor. She was also a starter in the inauguralWNBA All-Star Game that same year. She averaged 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in her first season. The next year, Holdsclaw was named to theOlympic team, helping to lead them to agold medal.
During her subsequent seasons in the WNBA, Holdsclaw continued to improve her numbers. In 2002, despite missing several games with an ankle injury, Holdsclaw averaged adouble-double per game with 19.9 points and 11.5 rebounds. By 2003, she was averaging 20.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. On July 24, 2004, however, she failed to show up for a game againstCharlotte, played one more game in reserve and then did not play the rest of the season including the entire playoffs.[citation needed]
On March 21, 2005, Holdsclaw was traded to theLos Angeles Sparks in exchange forDeLisha Milton-Jones.
In May 2006, Holdsclaw took a sudden two-week leave from playing for the Sparks, but later clarified that this was due to the serious illnesses of her father and stepfather. As of late June, she was averaging 14.4 points per game and 7 rebounds per game.
On June 11, 2007, only a few weeks into the 2007WNBA season, she surprisingly announced she was retiring and did not immediately provide any explanation as to her sudden departure.[9]
On December 17, 2008, theAtlanta Dream traded the 13th pick in the2009 WNBA draft to theLos Angeles Sparks in exchange for the rights to Holdsclaw. Holdsclaw stated she definitely considered a return to theWNBA if healthy, and did. Holdsclaw was a constant part of the team's offense and a starter that season, despite an injury that kept her out several games toward the end of the season. However, she returned just in time for one game in theplayoffs. The Dream lost to theDetroit Shock.
On May 19, 2010, she was released from the Dream after requesting a trade and did not report to the team. Two days later, she signed with theSan Antonio Silver Stars.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Washington | 31 | 30 | 34.2 | .437 | .172 | .773 | 7.9 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 16.9 |
| 2000 | Washington | 32 | 32 | 35.3 | .465 | .256 | .680 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 17.5 |
| 2001 | Washington | 29 | 29 | 33.6 | .400 | .239 | .682 | 8.8 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 16.8 |
| 2002 | Washington | 20 | 20 | 31.7 | .452 | .393 | .830 | 11.6° | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 19.9° |
| 2003 | Washington | 27 | 27 | 35.1 | .425 | .171 | .903 | 10.9° | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 20.5 |
| 2004 | Washington | 23 | 22 | 34.8 | .402 | .412 | .803 | 8.3 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 19.0 |
| 2005 | Los Angeles | 33 | 33 | 35.8 | .480 | .231 | .788 | 6.8 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 17.0 |
| 2006 | Los Angeles | 25 | 0 | 29.5 | .470 | .200 | .884 | 6.1 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 15.0 |
| 2007 | Los Angeles | 5 | 5 | 30.0 | .492 | .667 | .833 | 5.6 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 15.8 |
| 2009 | Atlanta | 25 | 25 | 28.3 | .414 | .200 | .839 | 4.4 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 13.9 |
| 2010 | San Antonio | 29 | 29 | 29.0 | .494 | .355 | .806 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 13.6 |
| Career | 11 years, 4 teams | 279 | 252 | 32.9 | .443 | .262 | .794 | 7.6 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 16.9 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Washington | 2 | 2 | 37.5 | .448 | .000 | 1.000 | 5.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 15.0 |
| 2002 | Washington | 5 | 5 | 34.6 | .449 | .182 | .733 | 8.6 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 18.8 |
| 2005 | Los Angeles | 2 | 2 | 39.0 | .519 | 1.000 | .400 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 15.5 |
| 2006 | Los Angeles | 3 | 1 | 14.7 | .333 | .500 | .000 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 4.3 |
| 2009 | Atlanta | 1 | 0 | 13.0 | .250 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Career | 5 years, 3 teams | 13 | 10 | 29.5 | .442 | .250 | .725 | 6.0 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 13.2 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | Tennessee | 36 | - | - | 46.7 | 23.3 | 71.3 | 9.1 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | - | 16.2 |
| 1996–97 | Tennessee | 39 | - | - | 49.8 | 34.0 | 66.7 | 9.4 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 0.9 | - | 20.6 |
| 1997–98 | Tennessee | 39 | - | - | 54.6 | 22.0 | 76.5 | 8.4 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 0.9 | - | 23.5 |
| 1998–99 | Tennessee | 34 | - | - | 51.9 | 14.3 | 70.7 | 8.1 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 0.7 | - | 21.3 |
| Career | 148 | - | - | 51.0 | 25.4 | 71.5 | 8.8 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 0.8 | - | 20.4 | |
| Statistics retrieved fromSports-Reference.[10] | |||||||||||||
Holdsclaw was a member of the National team who traveled toBerlin, Germany in July and August 1998 for the FIBA World Championships. The USA team won a close opening game against Japan 95–89, then won their next six games easily. In the quarterfinals, Holdsclaw scored 20 points to help team advance. After trailing late in the final game, the USA held on to win the gold medal 71–65. Holdsclaw averaged 10.9 points per game, third highest on the team.[11]
Holdsclaw continued with the National team to the 2000 Olympics inSydney, Australia. The USA won all eight games, including the gold medal game against host Australia to win the gold medal, although Holdsclaw had a stress fracture in her right foot and was unable to compete.[12]
Ros Casares Valencia
TS Wisla Can-Pack Kraków, championship,MVP of the finals; season's average: 17.9 points per game Lotos PKO BP GdyniaTS Wisla Can-Pack KrakówToday, Holdsclaw works as a mental health advocate.[17][18]
Holdsclaw wrote in her autobiographyBreaking Through: Beating the Odds Shot after Shot (2012,ISBN 0985029803) that she had suffereddepression during her professional basketball career, and attempted suicide on one occasion.[19]
Atlanta police issued an arrest warrant for Holdsclaw on November 15, 2012, after Holdsclaw allegedly attacked her ex-girlfriend's car with a baseball bat and shot at the car. The owner of the car, fellow WNBA playerJennifer Lacy, was uninjured.[20] It was announced on February 27, 2013, that Holdsclaw was being indicted for the November shooting in Atlanta. It is a six-count indictment charging her withaggravated assault,criminal damage and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Holdsclaw was released from jail after posting a $100,000 bond and a court date was not set.[21]
Holdsclaw pleaded guilty June 14, 2013, to aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and other charges. She was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service and pay a $3,000 fine under the plea agreement. Holdsclaw's attorney Ed Garland said his client "felt that to honestly accept what her actions were was best for everyone concerned".[22]
Documentary filmmaker Rick Goldsmith produced a film on Holdsclaw's life and battle with mental illness calledMind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw which aired onLogo TV on May 3, 2016.[23]
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