The Chamique Holdsclaw debate begins on the Rebkell board. The question being asked: Has Chamique failed to meet expectations?
In 1999, Chamique Holdsclaw was one of the most decorated college basketball players, male or female, to have ever played the game. Three national titles at Tennessee. Four-time Kodak All-American. She was going to revolutionize the women's game. She was even referred to as the WNBA's Michael Jordan. She was taken with the first pick in the 1999 draft, the deepest draft in league history, and ahead of Yolanda Griffith, Natalie Williams, and DeLisha Milton-Jones.
Seven years later, Holdsclaw has not won a WNBA title. She has never won the Most Valuable Player Award. She has never made First Team All-WNBA. Only once has her team finished above .500 (excluding 2004, when she took a leave of absence from the team mid-season; at the time she left, her team had a losing record). She has been labeled by some as a "coach killing diva headcase."
But look at Chamique's numbers. Her career numbers are 18.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Her career PPG ranks third-best all-time, behind Cynthia Cooper and Lauren Jackson. Only Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Katie Smith, and Tina Thompson have scored more total points - and all of them did it in at least 23 more total games. She is fourth all-time in rebounds per game, behind Cheryl Ford, Leslie, and Griffith, while ranking fifth in total rebounds. She led the league in scoring (19.9) and rebounding (11.6) in 2002, but was not eligible for the MVP award because she only played 20 games due to injury. In 2003, she was second in scoring (20.5), but first in rebounding (10.9) - and the only player to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds in a season. But Lauren Jackson was voted the MVP.
Has Mique revolutionized the WNBA, the way marketers, fans, and the league thought she would? Arguably not. And yet she is the ONLY player in the history of the WNBA to be ranked among the top four players in points per game and rebounds per game for her career.
Saying Mique has failed to expectations is not to say she has not had a great career. It says more about the unrealistic nature of the expectations placed upon her.
In 1999, Chamique Holdsclaw was one of the most decorated college basketball players, male or female, to have ever played the game. Three national titles at Tennessee. Four-time Kodak All-American. She was going to revolutionize the women's game. She was even referred to as the WNBA's Michael Jordan. She was taken with the first pick in the 1999 draft, the deepest draft in league history, and ahead of Yolanda Griffith, Natalie Williams, and DeLisha Milton-Jones.
Seven years later, Holdsclaw has not won a WNBA title. She has never won the Most Valuable Player Award. She has never made First Team All-WNBA. Only once has her team finished above .500 (excluding 2004, when she took a leave of absence from the team mid-season; at the time she left, her team had a losing record). She has been labeled by some as a "coach killing diva headcase."
But look at Chamique's numbers. Her career numbers are 18.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Her career PPG ranks third-best all-time, behind Cynthia Cooper and Lauren Jackson. Only Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Katie Smith, and Tina Thompson have scored more total points - and all of them did it in at least 23 more total games. She is fourth all-time in rebounds per game, behind Cheryl Ford, Leslie, and Griffith, while ranking fifth in total rebounds. She led the league in scoring (19.9) and rebounding (11.6) in 2002, but was not eligible for the MVP award because she only played 20 games due to injury. In 2003, she was second in scoring (20.5), but first in rebounding (10.9) - and the only player to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds in a season. But Lauren Jackson was voted the MVP.
Has Mique revolutionized the WNBA, the way marketers, fans, and the league thought she would? Arguably not. And yet she is the ONLY player in the history of the WNBA to be ranked among the top four players in points per game and rebounds per game for her career.
Saying Mique has failed to expectations is not to say she has not had a great career. It says more about the unrealistic nature of the expectations placed upon her.
posted by Barry at 4:45 PM
