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Former Tennessee, WNBA star Nikki McCray-Penson dies at 51
Nikki McCray-Penson, who starred in the WNBA through its early years after a great collegiate career at Tennessee, died on Friday. Her death was confirmed to Cora Hall of the Knoxville News Sentinel by Rutgers, where she was an assistant coach for the university's women's basketball team.
McCray-Penson was a two-time SEC Player of the Year with Tennessee in 1994 and 1995 under the late legendary coach Pat Summitt. In 1996, she began her professional career with the Columbus Quest of the American Basketball League (ABL), a women's league that launched a year prior to the WNBA. After winning the league's MVP Award and a championship with the Quest, McCray-Penson joined the WNBA's Washington Mystics in 1997. (The ABL dissolved after two seasons in 1998.)
McCray-Penson arrived right on time as the WNBA wanted to showcase itself as a viable domestic option for the best women's hoops players as opposed to going overseas. A point guard, she quickly ascended as one of the league's young talents, earning three straight All-Star nods from 1999 through 2001.
She also played for the legendary 1996 U.S. Olympic Team, a group that not only set the tone for the development of the WNBA, but also laid the groundwork for what remains the most dominant entity in Team USA. The senior women's team has not lost an Olympic game since 1992, winning seven straight gold medals. Known for being a tenacious defender, McCray-Penson won two golds with Team USA in 1996 and 2000.
After her playing career, McCray-Penson began coaching for several college teams, including serving as head coach at Old Dominion and Mississippi State. She was an assistant coach for Dawn Staley at South Carolina, with a national title in 2017 to her name, before taking over at Old Dominion.
McCray-Penson was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 while at South Carolina. She stepped down from Mississippi State in 2021 to focus on her health but returned to the sidelines as an assistant with Rutgers in 2022.
Tributes poured in from throughout the women's basketball world, with in memoriam tweets from WNBA franchises she played for: the Mystics, Phoenix Mercury, Indiana Fever and defending champion Las Vegas Aces, who played in San Antonio before moving to Nevada.
One of the more touching tributes came from Aces star A'ja Wilson, whom McCray-Penson coached when she was an assistant at South Carolina.
Heart hurts like crazy over this one! such a fighter and a warrior with the sweetest gentle soul! Coach McCray you’ve helped me in many many ways and you were a true gift from God! Truly will be missed! No more suffering no more pain! God got a good one #oranges pic.twitter.com/zRCu4zXXdv
— A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) July 7, 2023
The cause of death was not announced.
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