Teresa Edwards (born July 19, 1964) is an American former

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

player and four time Olympic gold medalist. In 2000, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' magazine placed her as 22nd of the "100 Greatest Female Athletes of the 20th Century". She played for, and graduated from, the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. The US Olympic Committee appointed Edwards as chef de mission for the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In 2010, Edwards was inducted into 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 2013, she was inducted into the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...

. In 2021, Edwards published an autobiographical audio book, ''Black Gold'', about her basketball career, with a focus on her Olympic experiences.

High school

Born in Cairo, Georgia, Edwards attended Cairo High School, where she was a four-year starter. In her junior and senior years, the Syrupmakers were 58–3. She scored 1,982 points in her high school career, and was honored as the Georgia High School Player of the Year in 1982.

College years

Edwards began her college career for the Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball at the

where she was a two time All-American. She was the starting point guard for the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, helping lead them to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. Edwards played in her first

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in 1984 as a collegian, and won her first of four

gold medals 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 ...

as the youngest member of the team. Her college jersey number (#5) was retired, making her one of only three Lady Bulldog players given that honor. She earned her degree in leisure studies in 1990.

Georgia statistics

Source

ABL career

Edwards was the star player and head coach for the Atlanta Glory of the American Basketball League (ABL). She played in the ABL inaugural game between the Glory and the San Jose Lasers, won by the Lasers 78–70. She was traded to the Philadelphia Rage in 1998.

WNBA career

During the 2003 WNBA draft, at the urging of Minnesota Lynx head coach Suzie McConnell Serio, the Lynx selected Edwards even though she was 38 years old. Edwards and Serio were teammates on the women's basketball team during the Summer Olympics of 1988 and

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. Edwards played for the Lynx during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Afterwards, her contract expired and she became a free agent. But no other WNBA team offered her a contract for the 2005 season. In December 2006, Edwards returned to Lynx, as an assistant coach. Edwards served as an analyst for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...

coverage of Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2011, Edwards was named as assistant coach of the Tulsa Shock. She would later become the interim head coach after Nolan Richardson resigned on July 9, 2011. On March 4, 2014, Edwards was hired by the Atlanta Dream as the assistant coach.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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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 ...

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, 34 , , 34 , , 20.5 , , .370 , , .294 , , .700 , , 2.6 , , 2.3 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 2.7 , , 5.7 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 2 years, 1 team , 68 , , 68 , , 22.8 , , .372 , , .297 , , .743 , , 2.9 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 2.7 , , 5.5

Playoffs

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, 3 , , 3 , , 27.7 , , .316 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , 3.3 , , 6.3 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 2.7 , , 6.7 , - , align="left" ,

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, 2 , , 2 , , 21.5 , , .167 , , .200 , , .750 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 2.0 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 2 years, 1 team , 5 , , 5 , , 25.2 , , .280 , , .294 , , .875 , , 3.0 , , 4.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.4 , , 2.4 , , 5.2

International career

After Edwards graduated, she played abroad for nine seasons splitting time between Vicenza- Italy, Nagoya- Japan, Spain (Dorna Godella), and France (

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...

and

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

). During this time, she also continued to appear in international competition. After the 1994 season, she stayed in the United States to train for her fourth Olympic appearance at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Edwards was selected to take the competitors' oath at the Opening Ceremonies in Atlanta (the opening ceremonies took place on her 32nd birthday). She was named the 1996 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation. She competed for the United States in international competition a total of 19 times. Her teams won 14

. In 1984, the USA sent its National team to the 1984

William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...

competition in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, for pre-Olympic practice. The team easily beat each of the eight teams they played, winning by an average of just under 50 points per game. Edwards averaged 5.5 points per game. Edwards is the first female basketball player to have played in five Olympics. She is jointly (with Australian Andrew Gaze) the third basketball player to compete at five Olympics along with Puerto Rican Teófilo Cruz and Brazilian Oscar Schmidt. She also holds the unique distinction of being the youngest gold medalist in women's basketball (age 20 in 1984) and the oldest gold medalist in women's basketball (age 36 in

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 ...

). She made a record fifth Olympic basketball team, earning a fourth

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 ...

to go with her

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. She returned to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

in 2002. Edwards was named to the team representing the US at the 1987

competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The team won all seven games to win the gold medal for the event. Edwards led the team in scoring with 23 points against China. The USA won the gold medal game by a single point over South Korea, helped by Edwards key free throws with a minute left in the game. She was the team's second leading scorer with 12.4 points per game over the seven games, and was named to the all-tournament team. In the following year, 1988, Edwards was also named to the Jones Cup team. The USA team was not as successful, with a 3–2 record, but that was enough to secure the silver medal. She averaged 15.4 points per game to lead her team in scoring. Edwards was a member of the 1987 gold medal-winning USA Women's Pan American Team in Indiana, and the 1991 bronze medal-winning team in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Edwards was a member of the USA National team at the 1990 World Championships, held in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. The team won their opening round games fairly easily, with the closest of the first three games a 27-point victory over Czechoslovakia. Then they faced Cuba, a team that had beaten the US in exhibition matches only a few weeks earlier. The USA team was losing at halftime, but came back to win 87–78. Edwards hit four of her five three-point attempts, and scored 32 points, along with five steals. The USA team found itself behind at halftime to Canada in their next game, but came back to win easily 95–70. After an easy match against Bulgaria, the USA team faced Czechoslovakia again, end achieved an almost identical result, winning 87–59. In the title match, the USA team won the gold medal with a score of 88–78. Edwards led the team in scoring and assists, averaging 21.9 points per game and recording 24 assist for the event. Edwards was named to the USA national team and competed in the 1994 World Championships, held in June 1994 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The team was coached by Tara VanDerveer, and won their first six games, when they faced Brazil. In a closely contested, high-scoring game, Brazil hit ten of ten free throws in the final minute to secure a 110–107 victory. The USA won a close final game against Australia 100–95 to earn the bronze medal. Edwards had the second highest scoring average on the team with 12.7 points per game. She also holds the record for points in an ABL game with 4

Awards and honors

* 2001:

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

* 2010:

* 2009–2012: USA Basketball Board of Directors * 2011: Inducted to the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

* 2011: NCAA Silver Anniversary Award * 2013:

Notes

References

* *

External links

Teresa Edwards
at the

* * * *
Profile from ''Sports Illustrated'' "100 Greatest Female Athletes of the 20th Century"
* * *
IOC 1996 Summer Olympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Teresa 1964 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American Basketball League (1996–1998) coaches American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Atlanta Dream coaches Atlanta Glory players Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1987 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1991 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball players Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Minnesota Lynx coaches Minnesota Lynx draft picks Minnesota Lynx players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Oath takers at the Olympic Games Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in basketball Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Cairo, Georgia Philadelphia Rage players Shooting guards Tarbes Gespe Bigorre players Tulsa Shock head coaches Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in basketball 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen United States women's national basketball team players Women's National Basketball Association general managers Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Goodwill Games gold medalists Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games

High school

College years

Georgia statistics

ABL career

WNBA career

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

International career

Awards and honors

See also

Notes

References

External links