Kym Hampton (born November 3, 1962) is a retired professional

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. A 6'2" center, Hampton was drafted as the number four pick in the 1997

WNBA Elite draft The 1997 WNBA draft was the 1st draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three d ...

and played three seasons for 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 ...

(1997–1999). Following a 12-year professional stint in Europe along with her three years in the WNBA, Hampton retired from basketball in 2000, due to worn cartilage in her right knee.

Early life

Born and raised in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, Hampton is one of seven children born to Donald and Joyce Hampton. Hampton attributes her athletic ability to her father's side of the family and her uncle, Charlie Hampton, was a Central High School standout. Both Kym Hampton and Charlie Hampton played on the Kentucky All-Star team.

High school

Hampton attended

Iroquois High School Iroquois High School is a high school located in southwestern Louisville, Kentucky, United States near Iroquois Park, in the Beechmont neighborhood (nestled between two portions of the Iroquois neighborhood). It is part of the Jefferson Coun ...

in Louisville, Kentucky. She joined the basketball team during her freshman year in 1976, at the urging of the head coach Marshall Abstain. Hampton ultimately scored 1,198 career points, averaging 23.5 points per game and 728 rebounds. Kym was the starting center on both Kentucky All-Star and Kentucky East/West All-Star teams. Hampton won the state championship in the shot put, three of her four years at Iroquois and set the state record 46' 4" in her senior year (1980). Hampton was asked by her track coach Bob Hanley, to compete in the high jump and discus during Iroquois Track Classic, and set two school records that day. 5'2" in the high jump and 116'6.5" in the discus.

College

Hampton attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

from 1980 to 1984. During her college career, the Sun Devils made two consecutive trips, during the 1982 and 1983 seasons, to the Sweet 16, before being eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. Hampton obtained her B.A. in theatre from Arizona State University in 1984. In 1989, Hampton was inducted into the Arizona State Hall of Fame. In 2014, Arizona State honored her by retiring her No. 32 jersey in a ceremony at Wells Fargo Arena.

Career

After graduation, Hampton played internationally, spending six years in Spain, four and one half years in Italy, one year in France, and one year in Japan. In 1997, Hampton was selected as the number four pick in the

WNBA Elite Draft The 1997 WNBA draft was the 1st draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three d ...

, by the

, in its inaugural season. Hampton's debut game was played on June 21, 1997, in a 67–57 win over 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 ...

where she recorded 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block. During her three-year WNBA career, Hampton became a signature front-court presence for the Liberty as she was the team's starting Center for all 90 of the games that she played for the team. Her averages of points and rebounds per game stayed similar amongst all three of her WNBA seasons. During her first year, Hampton averaged 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds helping the Liberty to a 17–11 record a Finals appearance (losing the championship game to 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 ...

). In her first Finals game, Hampton recorded a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. For her sophomore season, she averaged 9.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, including a career high 22 points, 10 rebounds performance against the

Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Salt Lake City. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. History One of the eight original WNBA teams, the Starzz ...

on June 21, 1998. The Liberty finished with a 18–12 record and unfortunately missed the playoffs this season. In her first two seasons, Hampton would share the front-court with teammate

Rebecca Lobo Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin (born October 6, 1973) is an American television basketball analyst and former professional women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003. Lobo, at 6'4", played the cent ...

who also started in every game she played for her first two seasons in the league. But for Hampton's third season in 1999, Lobo would suffer an ACL injury and only played the first game of the season. Thus, Hampton's starting front court teammate became

Sue Wicks Susan Joy Wicks (born November 26, 1966) is a former basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played with the New York Liberty from 1997 to 2002. Wicks was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame ...

. Hampton produced averages of 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds while the Liberty once again made it back to the WNBA Finals. Also during this season, she would be the starting Center in the inaugural

WNBA All-Star Game The Women's National Basketball Association All-Star Game, commonly referred to as the WNBA All-Star Game, is an annual exhibition basketball game played in the United States between the best players of the Western and Eastern Conference of ...

The Liberty would once again faceoff against the Comets in the Finals. In 1999, the Finals were a beast-of-three series instead of a single game. In that Finals series, Hampton averaged 6.6 points and 7.3 rebounds as the Liberty would suffer defeat to the Comets again. Due to worn cartilage in her right knee, Hampton retired from the WNBA on May 26, 2000. For her career of 90 games played, she averaged 9.3ppg, 5.8rpg, and 1.0 apg. Hampton's final WNBA game was played in Game 3 of the 1999 WNBA Finals on September 5, 1999. The Liberty would lose the game 47–59 to the

, thus dropping the championship to the Comets as well. Hampton recorded 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in her final game.

Post-career

Off the court, Hampton has pursued modeling, acting, and singing. She is an original

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989, and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics l ...

Queen Collection model featured in print and a nationwide commercial. She was one of the original

Lane Bryant Lane Bryant Inc. is an American women's apparel and intimates specialty retailer focusing on plus-size clothing. The company began in 1904 with maternity designs created by Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin. Lane Bryant, Inc., is the largest pl ...

"V-Girls" in a national V-Girl campaign. She's graced the pages of ''

Glamour Magazine ''Glamour'' is a multinational online women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications and based in New York City. It was originally called ''Glamour of Hollywood''. From 1939 to 2019, Glamour was a print magazine. Due to decreasing numb ...

'', ''

Essence Magazine ''Essence'' (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women. History Edward Lewis, Clarence O ...

'' and other magazines. In 2012 Hampton was one of the women featured on ABC's The Revolution daytime TV show trying to improve themselves, particularly with regard to weight loss. Over a five-month period Hampton got her weight down to what it had been when she played professional basketball.

Career statistics

WNBA

Source

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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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, style="background:#D3D3D3", 28° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 28° , , 23.7 , , .474 , , .000 , , .640 , , 5.8 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 1.8 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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° , , 24.8 , , .452 , , .000 , , .716 , , 6.0 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 2.1 , , 9.1 , - , 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;",

, , 32° , , 32° , , 26.8 , , .431 , , .500 , , .747 , , 5.6 , , .7 , , .7 , , .6 , , 1.6 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , , 3 years, 1 team , 90 , , 90 , , 25.2 , , .451 , , .250 , , .697 , , 5.8 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 1.8 , , 9.3

Playoffs

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, 2 , , 2 , , 32.5 , , .526 , , – , , .700 , , 13.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, , 6 , , 6 , , 30.2 , , .429 , , .000 , , .647 , , 7.8 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , 1.2 , , 1.8 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , , 2 years, 1 team , 8 , , 8 , , 30.8 , , .456 , , .000 , , .667 , , 9.3 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , 1.8 , , 10.0

References

External links

WNBA Profile

Retrieved on 2009-10-17. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Kym 1962 births Living people American women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Spain Arizona State Sun Devils women's basketball players Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky Iroquois High School alumni New York Liberty draft picks New York Liberty players WNBA All-Stars Centers (basketball) 20th-century American sportswomen