Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw (born August 9, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). She announced her retirement from the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, 2007, though she eventually came out of retirement to play with the Atlanta Dream for the 2009 WNBA Season. Holdsclaw was inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, and the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in 2018.

Early life

Holdsclaw grew up playing basketball. While attending Christ the King Regional High School in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, 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 the

Women's Basketball Coaches Association The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches. The mission of the WBC ...

(WBCA). She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game in 1995, scoring eight points.

College career

Holdsclaw went to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

from 1995 to 1999, where she played under coach

Pat Summitt Patricia Susan Summitt (; June 14, 1952 – June 28, 2016) was an American women's college basketball head coach and college basketball player. As a coach, she acquired 1,098 career wins, the most in college basketball history at the time ...

and helped to lead the Lady Vols to the women's NCAA's first ever three consecutive Women'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 teammate

Tamika Catchings Tamika Devonne Catchings (born July 21, 1979) is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Widely considered as one of the ...

Cheryl Miller Cheryl Deann Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA on TNT, NBA games on Turner Sports, TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked ...

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, Ann Meyers of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Lynette Woodard of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and LaToya Thomas of

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

.) 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 in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

history to have 3,000 points (a list including Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri State, Patricia Hoskins of Mississippi Valley State, Lorri Bauman of

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

of USC, and

Cindy Blodgett Cindy Lee Blodgett (born December 23, 1975) is a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was also the head coach at University of Maine from 2007 to 2011. Blodgett attended Lawrence High School (Maine), Lawrence High School in F ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

). 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 teammate

, Sophia Young of Baylor, and Armintie Price of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

.) In 1998, Holdsclaw received the James 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 an ESPY 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. 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 of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is an List of African American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha ...

sorority.

WNBA career

In the 1999 WNBA draft, Holdsclaw was selected by the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

1st overall. After this selection, Holdsclaw gained the distinction of being the first female athlete to appear on the cover of '' SLAM'' magazine. Furthermore, Holdsclaw was pictured in a

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

jersey, implying that perhaps she was good enough to play in the NBA. In her first season, she was named the Rookie of the Year, the first number one draft pick to win that honor. She was also a starter in the inaugural WNBA 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 the Olympic team, helping to lead them to a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

. 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 a double-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 against Charlotte, played one more game in reserve and then did not play the rest of the season including the entire playoffs. On March 21, 2005, Holdsclaw was traded to the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

in exchange for DeLisha 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 2007 WNBA season, she surprisingly announced she was retiring and did not immediately provide any explanation as to her sudden departure. On December 17, 2008, the Atlanta Dream traded the 13th pick in the 2009 WNBA draft to the

in exchange for the rights to Holdsclaw. Holdsclaw stated she definitely considered a return to the WNBA 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 the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. The Dream lost to the

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...

. 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 the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 31 , , 30 , , 34.2 , , .437 , , .172 , , .773 , , 7.9 , , 2.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.9 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 32 , , 32 , , 35.3 , , .465 , , .256 , , .680 , , 7.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.6 , , 17.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 29 , , 29 , , 33.6 , , .400 , , .239 , , .682 , , 8.8 , , 2.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 20 , , 20 , , 31.7 , , .452 , , .393 , , .830 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 11.6° , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 19.9° , - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 27 , , 27, , 35.1 , , .425 , , .171 , , .903 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 10.9° , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.6 , , 20.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 23 , , 22 , , 34.8 , , .402 , , .412 , , .803 , , 8.3 , , 2.4 , , 1.7 , , 0.8 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 33 , , 33 , , 35.8 , , .480 , , .231 , , .788 , , 6.8 , , 3.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 0 , , 29.5 , , .470 , , .200 , , .884 , , 6.1 , , 2.2 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 30.0 , , .492 , , .667 , , .833 , , 5.6 , , 3.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 25 , , 25 , , 28.3 , , .414 , , .200 , , .839 , , 4.4 , , 2.2 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 29 , , 29 , , 29.0 , , .494 , , .355 , , .806 , , 5.3 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 11 years, 4 teams , 279 , , 252 , , 32.9 , , .443 , , .262 , , .794 , , 7.6 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 16.9

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 2 , , 2 , , 37.5 , , .448 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 5.5 , , 0.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 5 , , 5 , , 34.6 , , .449 , , .182 , , .733 , , 8.6 , , 3.2 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 2 , , 39.0 , , .519 , , 1.000 , , .400 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 1 , , 14.7 , , .333 , , .500 , , .000 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 13.0 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 5 years, 3 teams , 13 , , 10 , , 29.5 , , .442 , , .250 , , .725 , , 6.0 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 13.2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;" , 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;" ,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, 36, , -, , -, , 46.7, , 23.3, , 71.3, , 9.1, , 2.1, , 0.9, , 0.6, , -, , 16.2 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 39, , -, , -, , 49.8, , 34.0, , 66.7, , 9.4, , 2.9, , 2.4, , 0.9, , -, , 20.6 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 39, , -, , -, , 54.6, , 22.0, , 76.5, , 8.4, , 3.0, , 2.8, , 0.9, , -, , 23.5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 34, , -, , -, , 51.9, , 14.3, , 70.7, , 8.1, , 2.4, , 2.1, , 0.7, , -, , 21.3 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 , Career , 148, , -, , -, , 51.0, , 25.4, , 71.5, , 8.8, , 2.6, , 2.1, , 0.8, , -, , 20.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="14", Statistics retrieved from

Sports-Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey Ref ...

USA Basketball

Holdsclaw was a member of the National team who traveled to

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

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. Holdsclaw continued with the National team to the 2000 Olympics in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

. 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.

Awards and honors

* 1997—

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. It is named in honor o ...

* 1997— Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year * 1997— USBWA Women's National Player of the Year * 1997—Winner of the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

for basketball * 1997— WBCA Player of the Year * 1998—Naismith College Player of the Year award * 1998—Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year * 1998—USBWA Women's National Player of the Year * 1998—Winner of the Honda Sports Award for basketball * 1998—WBCA Player of the Year * 1998—The Honda-Broderick Cup winner for all sports * 2015—Inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame * 2018—Inducted into the

* 2025—Inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame

International career

Europe

* 2004–2005: Ros Casares Valencia * 2006–2007: TS Wisla Can-Pack Kraków, championship,

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the finals; season's average: 17.9 points per game * 2007–2008: Lotos PKO BP Gdynia * 2008–2009: TS Wisla Can-Pack Kraków

Chamique Holdsclaw Foundation

Today, Holdsclaw works as a mental health advocate.

Personal life

Holdsclaw wrote in her autobiography ''Breaking Through: Beating the Odds Shot after Shot'' (2012, ) that she had suffered depression during her professional basketball career, and attempted suicide on one occasion. 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 player Jennifer Lacy, was uninjured. 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 with

aggravated assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result ...

, 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. 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". Documentary filmmaker Rick Goldsmith produced a film on Holdsclaw's life and battle with mental illness called ''Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw'' which aired on

Logo TV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...

on May 3, 2016.Kovno Communications website

References

External links

* *
Associated Press article about Holdsclaw's depressionSouthern lady generalsMind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw
at kovnocommunications.org. {{DEFAULTSORT:Holdsclaw, Chamique 1977 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Spain American women's basketball players James E. Sullivan Award recipients LGBTQ basketball players LGBTQ people from New York (state) American lesbian sportswomen Los Angeles Sparks players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Astoria, Queens Power forwards Basketball players from Queens, New York Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball players Washington Mystics draft picks Washington Mystics players WNBA All-Stars First overall WNBA draft picks Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Atlanta Dream players Ros Casares Valencia players 21st-century American LGBTQ people United States women's national basketball team players Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Year winners 20th-century American sportswomen

Early life

College career

WNBA career

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

USA Basketball

Awards and honors

International career

Europe

Chamique Holdsclaw Foundation

Personal life

See also

References

External links