Q+A: Sheryl Swoopes

by Dan Shapiro / @danshapiro413 The name Sheryl Swoopes is synonymous with women’s basketball. The resume’s long, prolific and unmatched: a not-so-small collection of titles, Olympic Gold(s) and ground-breaking endorsements—including the honor of being the first woman to ever have her own signature shoe. I caught up with Sheryl at her office in Houston to talk to her about how she came to be one of the iconic athletes of all time. SLAM: How did you get into the game? Sheryl Swoopes: I’ve been playing since I was 7 with my two older brothers. We grew up in a very small town so there wasn’t much else to do. I started off as a member of the “Little Dribblers’ sort of like AAU in West Texas. It wasn’t until my freshman year in high school that I realized I might have something that a lot of other girls didn’t have. Did you have people encouraging your development on the Court? SS: My high school coaches: Dee Bledins. Dickie Faught—these guys told me that I had something special. They we...