Q 01/05

Which sportswear company gave Sheryl Swoopes a signature basketball shoe, the first ever named for a woman?

A) Reebok

B) Nike

C) Adidas

D) Converse

Answer · why

B) Nike

Nike launched the Air Swoopes in October 1995, well before the WNBA played its first game, and built a big advertising campaign around her.

Q 02/05

Sheryl Swoopes named her only child after which NBA superstar, to whom she was often compared?

A) Hakeem Olajuwon

B) Magic Johnson

C) Michael Jordan

D) Larry Bird

Answer · why

C) Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan is the namesake of her only child, Jordan Jackson. Swoopes, often called the female version of the Bulls star, also once played him one...

Q 03/05

Why did Sheryl Swoopes miss the first six weeks of the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997?

A) Her son's birth

B) A contract holdout

C) A broken foot

D) National team duty

Answer · why

A) Her son's birth

Her son's birth came that June, and Swoopes made her debut for the Houston Comets about six weeks later, in time to help win the league's first title.

Q 04/05

Sheryl Swoopes made headlines in 2005 as one of the highest-profile team-sport athletes to do what?

A) Sue her own league

B) Join a men's team

C) Boycott the Olympics

D) Come out as gay

Answer · why

D) Come out as gay

Come out as gay is what Swoopes did in October 2005, the year of her third WNBA MVP award, saying she could not help who she fell in love with.

Q 05/05

Sheryl Swoopes returned at age 40 to join which WNBA team, snapping its 20-game losing streak with a buzzer-beater?

A) Chicago Sky

B) Tulsa Shock

C) Connecticut Sun

D) Indiana Fever

Answer · why

B) Tulsa Shock

Tulsa Shock brought her back three years after her last WNBA game. Her shot beat Los Angeles 77–75 in August 2011 and ended a league-record skid.