Tina Thompson: Bio, Net Worth, Height, Age, Stats, Salary, Contracts, Career and More

Tina Thompson was one of the generational and fortunate players who got entry into the WNBA just after the completion of their collegiate career. Just when the legendary forward-center was about to complete her training as a California collegiate basketball player, she immediately entered the pro basketball league. For Tina, it was a stepping stone to a career that expanded to experience more than a decade in an exceptionally competitive league. No doubt it might be a normal tale for someone like Tina Thompson. However, for women players who aspired to be great and stay for a long run, Tina Thompson was the idol.

She did not realize how much she impacted the future basketballers with her consistency in the league. So, let’s find out how Tina developed her interest in the sport of basketball, her entry into the college, and her exceptional international performances. And finally, how she made it to the WNBA, maintaining her relevance as a player for more than a decade.

Tina Thompson: A Short Bio

The legendary Tina Thompson was born on February 10, 1975, in Los Angeles, California. The WNBA was established in 1996, however, Tina Thompson was the one selected as the number-one draft prospect for the 1997 WNBA Draft. So technically, Tina was the first player ever in the WNBA league to be recruited as a college draft pick. She won multiple championships in the pro basketball league and even made her nation proud with international achievements. Olympic Golds are at the top of the list when it comes to her top-notch accolades.

Tina Thompson Personal Information

Tina Thompson was a torchbearer for the WNBA players in the truest sense. But before moving ahead, let us take a quick peek at the prominent aspects of her life like her physical range and overview of her WNBA experience.

Tina Thompson: Personal Life

Early Life

Tina Thompson did not have her childhood scattered in different places. Rather, she spent all of her childhood in her birthplace, Los Angeles, California. Basketball as a sport was more of a way to spend time with her childhood friends. After all, Tina grew up with her brother TJ and her other friends from Robertson Park, West Los Angeles, California. So basketball came naturally to her since it was part of her neighborhood playing routine.

After a certain stage in life, Tina Thompson took admission at Morningside High School in Inglewood California. Over time, during her high school education, Tina developed an interest in Volleyball. But Basketball was always dear to her, and that’s why she put up more than 1500 points and 1000 points during her high school career.

After completing her high school education, it was time for Tina Thompson to leap. And she did it by getting admission to the University of South California as a basketball prospect. Let’s take a glance at the highlights of her college career:

• She spent four years (1993-97) helping Southern California compile a 77-37 record (.675) to three NCAA Tournaments (1994, 1995, 1997), including to the 1994 Elite Eight.
• A 1997 Associated Press (AP) All-America second-team selection, also named 1997 All-American honorable mention by Kodak/WBCA.
• Earned All-America honorable mention honors in 1996 from Kodak/WBCA and the A.P., and in 1995, was an AP All-America honorable mention.
• Listed on the 1995, 1996, and 1997 Kodak All-District VIII regional teams; 1995, 1996, and 1997 All-Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) first teams; and was named the 1994 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as well as Freshman All-America by Basketball Times.

Tina had put great numbers on the board during her college career. However, there are no details of every specific game. However, as per the data of Sports Reference, her numbers prove why she was chosen as the number one draft pick in the very first season of the WNBA.

Personal Assets

Tina Thompson has achieved much bigger than what she might have expected in the world of basketball. She was even the highest scorer of all time in the league until one of the later WNBA prodigies, Tina Charles, passed her in August 2024. Yet, she accumulated a lot of wealth from the sport that she played for so many years and then acquired a coaching career. So, it’s difficult to assume that Tina Thompson does not have any assets. However, there is no credible information available about her house or assets that she has in her possession yet.

Family Background

The names of Tina Thompson’s mother and father are not publicly available. However, as per the Team USA data, she has four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. The one that had the most impact on her life was her older brother, Tommy Thompson Jr. He first drew Tina’s attention to the game when she was just nine. Tommy used to take Tina to the local recreation center to play and mimic the moves of basketball. That’s where Tina Thompson honed her foundation of basketball.

Tina Thompson Partner

Tina Thompson’s personal life in terms of dating is somewhat conspicuous. It was not always clear. There were rumors that she married former NBA player Damon Jones but Tina even herself has not admitted that she was married to him. So it is not clear whether Tina married or not married to Damon Jones. However, she does have a son named Dyllan, who was born in May 2005. The rest of the information is still not available if Damon is the father of the child that Tina Thompson has been nurturing since childhood.

Surprisingly, Tina Thompson is quite vocal about her son’s life and posts about him on her social media. Most of the time, it is related to sports, as Tina’s son is also an athlete in college. He plays basketball for Georgia Tech University.

Tina Thompson Instagram and Social Media

Tina Thompson has a massive following of 80.7K followers on her Instagram profile. Coming to the X profile that she has, she posts much less but has 27.9K followers on her X profile. The WNBA legend also has a Facebook profile having 10 K followers.

• Instagram: @iamtinathompson
• Twitter: @IamTinaThompson
• Facebook: Tina Thompson

Other Social Presence

Tina Thompson has been actively working in the WNBA scene for a long time, so does attends WNBA games often. However, the presence is not consistent as a regular. Apart from the game attendance, she also attends the events and clinics related to basketball occasionally as it is evident from her Instagram profile.

Tina Thompson Net Worth

As per the Celebrity Net Worth, Tina Thompson holds a net worth of about $2 million in the WNBA world.

Tina Thompson Salary

Reportedly, Tina Thompson is earning about $325,000 US in the basketball world as a coach and for various appearances that she makes nowadays. That’s how the former WNBA star is making ends meet. Also, she is handling the duties of being the Portland Trail Blazers scout. However, the NBA has not disclosed the salary that she is getting for her services.

Endorsements

For now, Tina Thompson has endorsed any brand. However, she did endorse the South Bend Police Department and provided them with funds for buying and training a K9 dog through the department.

Endorsement Earnings

There is not a unique claimed officially to be the endorsement earnings of Tina Thompson. She has not even declared her wealth accumulated from different sources.

Tina Thompson Career Stats

Tina played for different teams during her career, which proved her skills were not limited to a singular position on the court. She adapted her game to the playing style of different teams, and she did not do so effectively. Let’s look at the stats she presented as per the data from ESPN:

Retirement

Tina Thompson bid adieu to the WNBA world as a pro-basketballer when she retired in the year 2013. However, that was not it for her, as she continued her presence in the basketball world through coaching. After that, Tina served as the Assistant coach of the Texas Longhorns till 2018. However, as soon as she completed her training as a coach, she got the job as the coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women’s basketball team from 2018 to 2022.

Tina Thompson Achievements

• She played alongside Sue Bird, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, and Diana Taurasi for Moscow Spartak in 2006-07, topped all EuroLeague participants in scoring 21.1 ppg., while adding 9.9 rpg. in aiding Spartak to the 2007 EuroLeague title, also helped Spartak earn the 2007 Russia SuperLeague crown.
• 4x WNBA Champion (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
• 9x WNBA All-Star
• Got inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018
• Olympic Gold Medalist (2004, 2008) and Bronze Medalist (2006 FIBA World Cup Championship)
• First-ever WNBA draft pick in 1997
• Tina Thompson made it back to Spartak Moscow Region to play during the 2007-08 season alongside USA teammates Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. Aided Spartak to a 15-1 EuroLeague record and the team’s second straight title, averaged 11.5 ppg., 5.6 rpg. and 1.2 apg. Her squad is also in the running for the 2008 Russia Superleague crown.

Tina Thompson Contract

Tina Thompson has been active in the league for a long time since 1997. Even when she was picked as the top pick, her salary would have been more than her other counterparts in the league. But she never disclosed how much she made through the league. However, the Virginia Longhorns management revealed the contract details of Tina Thompson, stating that she earned about $689,072 as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women’s basketball team.

Tina Thompson has been a silent partner who carried the WNBA for more than two decades. First, she did it as a player and then trained generations of players in college teams to get the future generations of the league. Even now, she is operating to find out the true potential of basketball players. But this time, she is doing it for the NBA players. It will be worth watching which talent she will discover in the upcoming years for the basketball world.

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