Kim Perrot (January 18, 1967 – August 19, 1999) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. She played in the WNBA for the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

and won three championships, the third being a posthumous honor by the Comets.

College

Perrot attended the

University of Southwestern Louisiana The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana Sys ...

(now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) and played four years there as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

. In one game against the University of Southeastern Louisiana, she scored 58 points, the third most 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.

Southwestern Louisiana statistics

Source

WNBA

After playing six seasons in Europe, Perrot joined the WNBA in the summer of 1997 for its inaugural season. Perrot played

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

for the Houston Comets and her debut game was played on June 21, 1997. On that day, the Comets defeated the

Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon ...

76 - 56 with Perrot recording 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. At 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m), she was noted there for her ferocious play and was a crowd favorite."WNBA's Kim Perrot dies at 32"
, by Terri Langford, ''Salon'', August 19, 1999 Her best friend was Comets star Cynthia Cooper. Perrot was the starting point guard for the Comets for 24 of the team's 28 games (for the other 4 games, teammate Tiffany Woosley would start in Perrot's place) and would go on to average 5.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the season. The Comets finished with an 18 - 10 record and made it to the WNBA Finals where they defeated the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

to win the WNBA's first championship in league history. Perrot would remain the Comets' starting point guard for the 1998 season and started in all 30 of the team's regular season games. Perrot played more minutes in her sophomore season and had increased productivity across the board, averaging 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game. The Comets finished with an incredible 27 - 3 record and once again won the WNBA championship by defeating the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

in a best-of-3 series. After the 1998 season, Perrot would not play in the WNBA again as she was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in February 1999. While she was not on the basketball court with the Comets that year, many of her teammates considered her to be a spiritual uplifting force for the team. Perrot wore jersey number 10 with the Comets organization and averaged 7.2 points, 3.3 steals, and 2.9 rebounds per game during her two seasons with the team. Her final game ever was Game 3 of the

1998 WNBA Finals The 1998 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 1998 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, top-seeded team of the league, defeated the Phoenix Mercury, third-seeded team of the league, two ga ...

on September 1, 1998, where she recorded 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists to help Houston defeat Phoenix 80 - 71.

Death and legacy

Perrot succumbed to her illness on August 19, 1999. The cancer had

metastasized Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spreading from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, ...

to Perrot's brain. She underwent surgery and radiation treatments to eradicate the tumors in her head, but declined chemotherapy recommended by her doctors. Perrot went to Mexico to seek alternative methods to battle cancer. Many attribute her death to that move—but metastasized lung cancer gave her no chance of survival with conventional medicine. In Mexico, she was joined by Cooper. Two days before her death, she took a

Medevac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters an ...

flight back to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

from

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, with Cooper and members of the Perrot family flying along. She was the first active player in the WNBA to die. After her death, the Comets went on to win a third straight WNBA title in 1999, and a tearful Cooper celebrated what the team called "#3 for #10". She was posthumously awarded a third championship ring and her #10 jersey was retired, thus making her the first player in league history to have her number retired. The WNBA subsequently renamed their sportsmanship award the

Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season, to the player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court—ethical behavior, fair p ...

in her honor. Comets fans raised money to create "Kim's Place", an area at the

MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center and autonomous university of the University of Texas System in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the wo ...

in Houston where kids with cancer can play games, sports, and relax. Also, the "Kim Perrot Leadership Award" was created by the Houston Can! Academy (a charter school for at risk youth)."Names In The News"
''Sports Business Daily'', October 25, 2002 While ill with cancer, Perrot had made many public appearances and given motivational speeches, mostly at schools. Perrot is buried at the Our Lady of the Assumption Cemetery in

Carencro, Louisiana Carencro (; historically ) is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette. The population was 7,526 at the 2010 census, up from 6,120 in 2000; at the 2020 census, its population was 9, ...

Career statistics

Regular season

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1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

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, 28 , , 24 , , 24.7 , , .364 , , .283 , , .405 , , 2.7 , , 3.1 , , 2.5 , , 0.1 , , 2.3 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

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, 30 , , 30 , , 32.9 , , .404 , , .269 , , .700 , , 3.1 , , 4.7 , , 2.8 , , 0.0 , , 2.7 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 2 years, 1 team , 58 , , 54 , , 28.9 , , .387 , , .275 , , .598 , , 2.9 , , 4.0 , , 2.6 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , , 7.2

Playoffs

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, 2 , , 2 , , 38.0 , , .227 , , .214 , , .750 , , 4.5 , , 2.0 , , 3.0 , , 0.0 , , 4.5 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

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, 5 , , 5 , , 36.4 , , .375 , , .375 , , .417 , , 3.2 , , 5.0 , , 1.6 , , 0.0 , , 3.4 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 2 years, 1 team , 7 , , 7 , , 36.9 , , .323 , , .300 , , .500 , , 3.6 , , 4.1 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.7 , , 8.1

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perrot, Kim 1967 births 1999 deaths American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Sweden American women's basketball players Basketball players from Louisiana Deaths from lung cancer in Texas Houston Comets players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball players Point guards Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players 20th-century American sportswomen African-American Catholics

College

Southwestern Louisiana statistics

WNBA

Death and legacy

Career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links