When the WNBA launched in 1997, I knew all the best American players. They were the members of the 1996 Olympic Team that had just won the gold medal. At least that is who the WNBA marketed, players like Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, and Rebecca Lobo.

And then here comes #14, Cynthia Cooper, scoring 22 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.1 steals/game to win the MVP and lead the Houston Comets to the first WNBA Championship. At the age of 34, Cooper came into the WNBA as a relative unknown to casual fans and dominated, winning 2 MVPS, and leading the Comets to four straight WNBA Championships, each time winning Finals MVP. Talk about malchut, or sovereignty. Cooper came into the league, took the crown, and her reign did not end until she retired in 2000 at the age of 37. 

But on this day of malchut sheb’gevurah, it’s…