All Decade Part 2

Problems with getting on Blogspot the past two days...Here are my next two selections...

Tina Thompson
Though she was the third wheel in the Cooper/Swoopes years, that third wheel was critical in their "tricycle" ride to four championships. Thompson is athletic, tough, plays inside and outside equally well and she is committed at both ends of the floor. Last year she came back slow after giving birth, and lost a step on defense while her shooting percentage also dropped off. She looked better in the playoffs, and I expect her back at 100% this season. While a yanking out of extensions incident similar to the Jackson/Leslie olympics episode is possible in the NBA, I doubt we will be entertained by any NBA refs having to determine if the blood on a players jersey is actually lipstick. Tina's aggressive defense on Lauren Jackson provided one of the more humorous incidents for me last season when Tina left streaks of red lipstick all over LJ's jersey.

Her numbers for last season were not representative of her averages, but here they are... 42% Floor percentage, 45% Stop percentage, 89.91 offensive rating, 5% Win % and 9.60 points produced per game.

All Time Records
#9 Points per game
#4 Total points
#10 Rebounds per game
#7 Total rebounds
#42 Total assists
#24 3 pt %
#3 Total 3 pt baskets
#27 Free throw %
#9 Total free throws
#4 Total field goals
#11 Total steals
#23 Blocks per game
#5 Minutes per game
#4 Total minutes

4 WNBA Championships
3 WNBA All First Team (97-98, 2004)
4 WNBA All Second Team (1999-2002)
3 WNBA All Star Starter Selections (excluding 2004 Team USA appearance)
1 WNBA All-Defensive Team (2005)

Lisa Leslie
This one hurts. There is no team in the WNBA that I love to "hate" more than the Storm's dreaded rival the LA Sparks, and no player that I love to "hate" more than Lauren Jackson's dreaded rival, La Diva. It is too hard to ignore all that she has done for the game, though, and I have to put her on my all-decade team for everything she has accomplished. After she retires I am sure that I will learn to have positive feelings about Leslie, much like I did after Magic Johnson retired...he was the nemesis of my Boston Celtics and my favorite player, Larry Bird. As long as she dons a uniform in the W, though, I will hiss when they call her name in the starting lineup. She has been the best center in the WNBA for the entire decade, challenged only, perhaps, by another of my all decade selections from a little farther north. Leslie's numbers for 2005...47% floor percentage, 75% stop percentage, 105.19 offensive rating, 62% win percentage and 14.79 points produced per game.

All Time Records
#5 Points per game
#1 Points total
#2 Rebounds per game
#1 Rebouds total
#39 Assists per game
#11 Assists total
#39 3 Point baskets
#1 Free throws total
#28 Field goal %
#1 Field goal total
#2 Steal total
#2 Blocks per game
#11 Minutes per game
#2 Minutes total

1 Defensive Player of the Year (2004)
2 League MVP (2001 & 2004)
6 All WNBA First Team (97, 2000-2004)
3 All WNBA Second Team (98-99, 2005)
1 All Defensive Second Team (2005)
4 time All Star Starter selections (1999-2000,2002-03)
2 time All Star Reserve selections (01, 05)
3 time All Star MVP (1999, 2001-2002)
2 WNBA championships
2 WNBA Finals MVP awards
1 of six players to earn a 20+ point/20+ rebound game (2002)
1 of four players to earn a triple double (2004 vs. Detroit)
Only WNBA player to dunk in a game (2002)
Only WNBA player to dunk in an All Star Game (2005)