Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin (born October 6, 1973) is an American televisionbasketball analyst and former professionalwomen's basketball player in theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003. Lobo, at 6'4", played thecenter position for much of her career. She playedcollege basketball at theUniversity of Connecticut, where she was a member of the team that won the1995 national championship, going 35–0 on the season in the process. She was inducted into theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. In April 2017, she was one of the members of the 2017 class of theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongsideTracy McGrady andMuffet McGraw.[1]
Lobo was born inHartford, Connecticut, the youngest daughter of RuthAnn (née Hardy) and Dennis Joseph Lobo.[2] Her father is ofCuban descent, while her mother was ofGerman andIrish heritage.[3] Lobo was raised aCatholic.[4][5] Her brother Jason played basketball atDartmouth College and her sister Rachel played basketball atSalem State College. Lobo's mother and father were both teachers; her father also coached basketball and track and field.[6] Raised inSouthwick, Massachusetts, Lobo was the state scoring record-holder with 2,740 points in her high school career forSouthwick-Tolland Regional High School inMassachusetts.[6] She held this record for 18 years until it was surpassed byBilqis Abdul-Qaadir of the new Leadership Charter School in Springfield on January 26, 2009.[7]
More than 100 colleges recruited Lobo, but she chose theUniversity of Connecticut due to its proximity and her belief in its academic excellence.[6] She helped lead theHuskies to the 1995National Championship with an undefeated 35–0 record. In her senior year, Lobo was the unanimous national player of the year, winning the 1995Naismith College Player of the Year award, theWade Trophy, theAP Player of the Year award, theUSBWA Player of the Year award, theHonda Sports Award for basketball, and theWBCA Player of the Year award. She was awarded the prestigiousHonda-Broderick Cup for 1994–95, presented to the athlete "most deserving of recognition as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year".[8] She was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program.[9] The Women's Sports Foundation named Lobo the 1995 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category).[10] She was the first player in the Big East Conference to earn first-team all-American honors for both basketball and academics.[11]
Lobo was named to the USA U18 team (then called the Junior World Championship Qualifying Team) in 1992. The team competed inGuanajuato, Mexico in August 1992. The team won their first four games, then lost 80–70 to Brazil, finishing with the silver medal for the event, but qualifying for the 1993 world games. Lobo averaged 6.8 points per game during the event.[12]
Lobo continued with the team to the 1993 U19 World Championship (then called the Junior World Championship). The team won five games and lost two, but that left them in seventh place. Lobo averaged 7.7 points per game and recorded six blocks, highest on the team.[13]
In 1995, Lobo passed through tryouts to join the national team, which later became the US team for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. Though her minutes on the floor were few, Lobo shared in the gold medal.
In 1997, the WNBA was formed and enjoyed its inaugural season, and Lobo was assigned to theNew York Liberty during the league's first player allocations on January 22, 1997. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997, in a 67 - 57 victory over theLos Angeles Sparks where she recorded 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.[14] In her first season, the Liberty fell to the Houston Comets in the WNBA Finals.[15]
Lobo remained a centerpiece of the Liberty in the 1998 season, averaging 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds as the Liberty finished 18 - 12. Although they had a great record, the Liberty would not make the playoffs in 1998 due to being 5th in the league standings and only the top 4 teams made the playoffs. TheCharlotte Sting also had a 18 - 12 record, but made it in the playoffs over the Liberty due to having a better Conference record (11 - 5 to New York's 8 - 8).[citation needed]
Lobo suffered a setback in 1999, tearing her leftanterior cruciate ligament and her meniscus in the first game of the season.[16] In 1999, she was selected to the inaugural WNBA All Star team but could not play because of the injury.[17] In December, she reinjured her knee and ended missing all of the 2000 season.[18]
Lobo returned during the 2001 season but played sparingly, only 85 minutes in total.
In January 2002, during the WNBA offseason, Lobo joined theSpringfield Spirit in theNational Women's Basketball League.[19]
On April 3, 2002, the Liberty traded her to theHouston Comets in exchange for Houston's second-round selection (26th overall) in the2002 WNBA draft[20] (the Liberty would use the pick to draftLinda Fröhlich).[citation needed]
During the WNBA offseason, Lobo returned again to the Spirit. In her first game of the season in February 2003, she had 25 points and 14 rebounds.[21]
On February 14, 2003, Lobo was traded to theConnecticut Sun for a 2003 second-round pick (which the Comets used to selectLori Nero).[22] Lobo played in 29 games for the Sun, averaging 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds. Her final WNBA game ever was played in Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals against theDetroit Shock on September 7, 2003. Lobo recorded 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks but the Sun lost the game 73 - 79 and would be eliminated from the playoffs.[23] Lobo would announce her retirement on September 23, 2003.[24]
Lobo also played two seasons in theNational Women's Basketball League with theSpringfield Spirit from 2002 through 2003.[25]
1994
1995
1997
2010
2017
2019
Lobo was inducted into theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2010.[33][34]
At the induction ceremony, she was introduced by her college coach,Geno Auriemma, who praised her for her "impact on the court and off the court" as "one of the founders [of the WNBA]", and "as a representative of our university, [and] as a member of the board of trustees".[35]
| Rebecca Lobo Statistics[36] at University of Connecticut | |||||||||||||||||||
| Year | G | FG | FGA | PCT | 3FG | 3FGA | PCT | FT | FTA | PCT | REB | AVG | A | TO | B | S | MIN | PTS | AVG |
| 1991–92 | 29 | 167 | 338 | 0.494 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 82 | 117 | 0.701 | 228 | 7.9 | 26 | 78 | 46 | 30 | 675 | 416 | 14.3 |
| 1992–93 | 29 | 189 | 421 | 0.449 | 29 | 85 | 0.341 | 77 | 119 | 0.647 | 326 | 11.2 | 37 | 75 | 97 | 26 | 926 | 484 | 16.7 |
| 1993–94 | 33 | 243 | 445 | 0.546 | 11 | 34 | 0.324 | 138 | 187 | 0.738 | 371 | 11.2 | 68 | 107 | 131 | 34 | 966 | 635 | 19.2 |
| 1994–95 | 35 | 238 | 476 | 0.5 | 18 | 51 | 0.353 | 104 | 154 | 0.675 | 343 | 9.8 | 129 | 91 | 122 | 40 | 1005 | 598 | 17.1 |
| Totals | 126 | 837 | 1680 | 0.498 | 58 | 171 | 0.339 | 401 | 577 | 0.695 | 1268 | 10.1 | 260 | 351 | 396 | 130 | 3572 | 2133 | 16.9 |
| 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 | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | New York | 28 | 28 | 33.5 | .376 | .286 | .610 | 7.3 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 12.4 |
| 1998 | New York | 30 | 30 | 29.2 | .484 | .308 | .710 | 6.9 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 11.7 |
| 1999 | New York | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | |||
| 2001 | New York | 16 | 0 | 5.3 | .318 | .500 | .500 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| 2002 | Houston | 21 | 0 | 6.3 | .469 | .429 | .250 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| 2003 | Connecticut | 25 | 13 | 11.9 | .284 | .250 | .222 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 2.4 |
| Career | 6 years, 3 teams | 121 | 72 | 19.2 | .407 | .295 | .628 | 4.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 6.7 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | New York | 2 | 2 | 34.0 | .429 | .000 | .583 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 12.5 |
| 2003 | Connecticut | 2 | 1 | 19.0 | .400 | .250 | .000 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 4.5 |
| Career | 2 years, 2 teams | 4 | 3 | 26.5 | .419 | .143 | .583 | 6.5 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 8.5 |
Today, Lobo is a reporter and color analyst forESPN with a focus on women's college basketball and WNBA games.
Lobo faced criticism for her commentary during an April 1, 2024,NCAA women's basketball Elite Eight game between theIowa Hawkeyes andLSU Tigers inAlbany, New York, after she remarked during an exchange with ESPN announcerRyan Ruocco, "And, by the way, good luck finding something to do in Albany."[37] Lobo has since apologized to the city of Albany.[38]
In 1996, Lobo and her late mother, Ruth Ann Lobo, collaborated on a book entitledThe Home Team,[39] which dealt with Ruth Ann's battle withbreast cancer. They also founded the Ruth Ann and Rebecca Lobo Scholarship, which offers a scholarship to the UConn School of Allied Health for Hispanic students.[40] Lobo was the 1996 spokesperson for theLee National Denim Day fundraiser which raises millions of dollars forbreast cancer research and education.
Starting in 2000, Lobo served as national spokesperson and backer for Body1.com, a consumer-targeted network of sites providing interactive content-rich information on medical technologies that treat ailments and diseases specific to body parts. Due to her recurring problems with a tornanterior cruciate ligament (ACL), she campaigned to raise awareness of knee injury risks in women. She shared her story with others suffering from the same type of injury and advocated for patient self-education via the Internet.[41]
On April 12, 2003, Lobo changed her last name to Lobo-Rushin after marryingSports Illustrated writerSteve Rushin at theBasketball Hall of Fame inSpringfield, Massachusetts.[42] They have three daughters and one son.[43]
Lobo and Rushin host the weeklyBall & Chain Podcast, where they discuss current events, sports and family life. They released its first episode on October 23, 2017.
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