WNBA career
Dixon was selected in the first round of the 1997 WNBA draft (14th overall) by the Los Angeles Sparks. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997 in a 57 - 67 loss to the New York Liberty where she recorded 2 points and 2 assists. [6]
Dixon played for the Sparks for nine seasons (1997 - 2005), was selected as an all-star for three consecutive seasons (2001 - 2003), and won a WNBA championship with the team in two back-to-back seasons (2001 and 2002). Before the start of the 2006 season, Dixon would sign with the Houston Comets on February 28, 2006. [7] The 2006 season is the only season that Dixon made the playoffs with the Comets, but they were swept in the first round by the Sacramento Monarchs.
She was waived by the Comets on January 11, 2007 [8] but was re-signed a month into the 2007 season on July 4. [9]
The Comets missed the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, finishing with a 13 - 21 and 17 - 17 record respectively. The Comets would also cease operations at the end of the 2008 season and a Dispersal Draft would be held in December 2008 to send all of the Houston Comets players to different teams. Unfortunately, Dixon (along with teammate Shannon Johnson) were the only Comets players that were eligible to be selected in the dispersal draft that were not chosen. The both of them thus became free agents and Johnson signed with the Seattle Storm while Dixon signed with the Indiana Fever. [10]
This 2009 season with the Fever ended up being Dixon's final year in the league. The Fever defeated the Washington Mystics and the Detroit Shock en route to the WNBA Finals (The 4th Finals appearance in Dixon's career). They battled the Phoenix Mercury in a grueling Finals series, even taking a 2-1 lead after game 3. Unfortunately the Fever would fall to the Mercury in games 4 and 5, thus losing the opportunity to win the title that year. Game 5 of the Finals series which was played on October 9, 2009, was Dixon's final WNBA game ever. The Fever lost the game 86 - 94 with Dixon recording 2 rebounds. [11]
After a lengthy 12 year career, Dixon announced her retirement on February 18, 2010. At the time of her retirement, Dixon was one of the four remaining players from the WNBA's inaugural season (along with Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson and Vickie Johnson). Speaking on her retirement, Dixon stated "I always wanted to go out on my own terms. After the Houston franchise disbanded, I was at a crossroads because I thought I would finish my career there. I was contemplating retirement then, but I still felt I had a little left to give the game and wanted to go out on my own terms.....I fell a little short of my goal to help Indiana obtain the championship. So I definitely thought about coming back for 2010. It was hard to come so close and fall short, but I do think now is the right time for me. I have no regrets in making this decision now". [12]
Michele Margaret Timms is an Australian basketball coach and former player. She played five seasons for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016.
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 club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began. Like some other WNBA teams, the Sparks have the distinction of not being affiliated with an NBA counterpart, even though the market is shared with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Tamika Devonne Catchings is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Widely considered as one of the greatest female basketball players and one of the most decorated players in WNBA history, Catchings has won a WNBA championship (2012), WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (2011), WNBA Finals MVP Award (2012), five WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards, four Olympic gold medals, the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2002), and an NCAA championship with the University of Tennessee Lady Vols (1998). She is one of only 11 women to receive an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup gold and a WNBA Championship. She has also been selected to ten WNBA All-Star teams, 12 All-WNBA teams, 12 All-Defensive teams and led the league in steals eight times. In 2011, Catchings was voted in by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time, and would be named to two more all-time WNBA teams, the WNBA Top 20@20 in 2016 and The W25 in 2021.
Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon is an American professional basketball coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA and served as the head basketball coach of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. Weatherspoon was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. In 2016, Weatherspoon was chosen to the WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.
Candace Nicole Parker, nicknamed "Ace", is an American former professional basketball player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team.
Sheryl Denise Swoopes is an American former professional basketball player. She was the first player to be signed in the WNBA, is a three-time WNBA MVP, and was named one of the league's Top 15 Players of All Time at the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game. Swoopes has won three Olympic gold medals and is one of eleven women's basketball players to have won an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup gold, and a WNBA title. She was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2017, she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Tina Marie Thompson is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Most recently, she served as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team from 2018 to 2022. Thompson was inducted into both the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Tari L. Phillips is an American former professional women's basketball player. Her cousin Tayyiba Haneef-Park played for USA Volleyball.
Mwadi Mabika is a Congolese-American former basketball player. She was an All-Star in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Crystal LaTresa Robinson is an American basketball coach and former player. She grew up in Atoka, Oklahoma, and first garnered national recognition during her collegiate career at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Professionally, Robinson played for the Colorado Xplosion of the ABL before playing in the WNBA for the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics.
Seimone Delicia Augustus is an American basketball coach and former professional player. She is currently an assistant coach for the Louisiana State University women's basketball team. She was drafted first overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2006 WNBA draft and played for the Lynx for most of her Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) career except for her final season in with the Los Angeles Sparks. An eight-time All-Star and the 2011 finals MVP, Augustus led the Lynx to four WNBA championships. She also won three gold medals in the Olympics on the U.S. national team.
Donnette Jé-Michelle Snow is an American former professional basketball player who played most recently in the Turkish Women's Basketball League.
Cappie Marie Pondexter is an American former professional basketball player. She was born in Oceanside, California and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Pondexter is known for her scrappy play, quick crossovers and midrange jumpshot. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) history.
Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles is an American former professional basketball player. Fowles played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her WNBA career. She won the WNBA MVP Award in 2017 and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times. She led the Lynx to win the WNBA Championship in 2015 and 2017, and she was named the MVP of the WNBA Finals both times. In 2020, Fowles overtook Rebekkah Brunson to become the WNBA's career leader in rebounds.
Lindsey Marcie Harding is an American professional basketball coach and former player. She is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Throughout her playing career, Harding played for the Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and has played overseas in Turkey and Russia. She was previously a scout and a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. She was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up in Houston, Texas, and also holds a Belarusian passport.
Bridget Pettis is an American former college and professional basketball player who was a guard in the WNBA for eight seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Pettis played college basketball for the University of Florida, and professionally for the Phoenix Mercury and the Indiana Fever of the WNBA.
The 2009 WNBA Season was the 13th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It is the first WNBA season without a Houston franchise, the Comets having folded in December 2008. The season ended with the Phoenix Mercury winning their second championship in three years.
The 2009 Indiana Fever season was their 10th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Fever attempted to advance to the WNBA Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season and were successful. The Fever reached their first WNBA Finals, but fell short in 5 games to the Phoenix Mercury.
Erlana La'Nay Larkins is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent.
Andrea Congreaves is a British former basketball player born in Epsom, Surrey who played professionally for the women's England's national team while also playing in the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Britain throughout her career. She is the former head coach of the Rhondda Rebels of the English Women's Basketball League, and the current head coach of the Mansfield Giants of the English Basketball League as well as the women's team of the University of Nottingham.
