Black History Month Spotlight: Chamique Holdsclaw
02/24/2022
Black History Month is an annual celebration of the achievements by Black Americans and a time for recognizing their impact in U.S. history. For the final week in February 2022, we commemorate Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer, AAU Alumna, and AAU Sullivan Award Recipient, Chamique Holdsclaw.
By: Troy MacNeill
ORLANDO, Fla. (2022) – Chamique Holdsclaw is one of the most dominant women to ever play basketball. Setting milestones all along her way, Holdsclaw broke records in high school, college, and in the WNBA. Her success did not stop once she stepped off the court either, as she is devoted to spreading awareness on mental health for everyone.
Holdsclaw would become one of the greatest players to ever play in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She started in a New York neighborhood, just a girl with a dream. Her dream and her drive would take her to heights unimaginable by most, especially for a girl in Holdsclaw’s shoes.
Born in 1977 in the inner city of Queens, New York, Holdsclaw lived with her parents until she was 11 years old. Growing up was not easy for Holdsclaw, as on some nights she was the only one in the house to take care of her younger brother and scrounge for meals. Her young parents struggled with alcoholism and often would leave the children abandoned. Growing up in a neighborhood best-known for depravity and crime, Holdsclaw began to look up to her grandmother, June Holdsclaw. June took in Chamique and her brother when she was 11 and provided them with a structured home life.
“My grandmother gave me so much attention,” Holdsclaw told Sports Illustrated. “I was established, going to school and playing basketball.”
Her grandmother made sure that Holdsclaw would be a well-rounded individual. Enrolled at Queens Lutheran School, Holdsclaw would study ballet and jazz, even performing on stage at New York’s Lincoln Center. But her passion was on blacktop courts. Living just miles away from basketball’s mecca, Madison Square Garden, Holdsclaw dreamed she’d be playing there as an adult. Basketball became her escape.
“I would take all my frustrations out on the basketball court,” Holdsclaw said in an interview. “It took me out of my environment; it allowed me to do better for myself and my family. It allowed me to educate myself.”
After learning more about the game from her uncle, Holdsclaw was always at the court. She earned the nickname “Flat-out” for her flat-out refusal to miss an opportunity to play basketball with her friends. She was playing with, and beating all of the boys at her after school programs. Holdsclaw credits her skill in basketball to those early years. The skirmishes she enjoyed on the playground as she beat the neighborhood boys made her better. That toughness would lead her to Christ the King High School where the milestones began.
While at Christ the King High School, Holdsclaw knew nothing but winning. In four years, her team had a record of 106 wins and only 4 losses. And Holdsclaw was at the center of it all, being named an All-American all four years. During the summers in between the school year, Holdsclaw was refining her skills and traveling the country while playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournaments for her coach, Vincent Cannizzaro. By the time high school had ended, Holdsclaw was leaving behind two school records. She accumulated 2,118 points and 1,532 rebounds, the all-time record for the school. This success caught the eye of one of the greatest college coaches ever, Pat Summitt.
Holdsclaw accepted a scholarship to the University of Tennessee where she would study Political Science, and play for Pat Summitt and the Lady Volunteers. The success followed from high school to college, and Holdsclaw would continue to break records. Her confidence and will to win kept pushing forward.
“Coaching Holdsclaw was an opportunity to raise the intensity level of one of the most gifted high school players I’d seen,” Pat Summitt said in Time Magazine. “She used to laugh away losses, but she hates to lose.”
As a freshman starter under Summitt, Holdsclaw was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week in her very first week. ESPN named her the College Basketball Player of the Week, making her the first woman to ever get that nod. That was a glimpse of what was to come for Tennessee fans. During her career with the Volunteers, Holdsclaw would become a 4 time All-American, won 3 consecutive NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships (first women’s NCAA team to ever do so), finished with a 131-7 overall record, and set records as a teammate and as an individual.
By the time her college career ended, Holdsclaw was the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at Tennessee in men’s or women’s basketball. She was the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in SEC women’s history, and the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in the NCAA Women’s Tournament history. As a teammate, she was the leader of Tennessee’s first ever undefeated season, going 39-0 as a junior in 1998. This also set an NCAA record for most wins in a single season. For all of her efforts, many awards were given.
Holdsclaw left college as the most decorated women’s basketball player ever; a four-time All-American, two-time Associated Press Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, a two-time Naismith winner, two-time Espy award winner as women’s college player of the year, and was named Naismith’s Player of the Century for the 1990s. She also broke barriers. In 1998 she became the first ever female college athlete to win the AAU’s most prestigious award, the James E. Sullivan Award, as the top amateur athlete in the nation.
Her unsurpassed accomplishments as an athlete have caused many to call Holdsclaw the greatest player to ever play women’s college sports. Her skills caused some to call her the female Michael Jordan. And her success did not end in college. After graduating from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Holdsclaw was ready to join the newly formed WNBA.
Surprising no one, Holdsclaw was the number-one draft choice in 1999, joining the Washington Mystics. Her drive to be the best continued in the WNBA as she was named the Rookie of the Year in 1999. Holdsclaw would play for the Mystics as well as the Los Angeles Sparks, Atlanta Dream, and the San Antonio Silver Stars over her 11 year professional career. She was the league’s scoring champion in 2002, a two-time rebounding champion, and a six-time WNBA All-Star. Holdsclaw also was a part of Team USA in 2000 winning the Gold Medal at the Sydney Olympics. In 2018, Holdsclaw was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Holdsclaw’s talent and humility made her a candidate for many endorsement deals and had fans flocking to watch the WNBA. She changed how women were viewed in sports. “Chamique has changed the face of women’s sports,” said Olympic great, Jackie Joyner-Kersee. “She's brought ordinary people into watching the sport. Now you see men outside the arena holding signs that say, NEED TICKETS.”
Since retiring, Holdsclaw has dedicated her life and devoted her time to raising awareness for mental health and wellness. She spends much of her focus and time by making appearances and speaking at various conferences and events within the mental health community to share her own personal struggles with depression and how she has been able to manage her own mental health.
Holdsclaw wrote in her autobiography, Breaking Through: Beating the Odds Shot after Shot, that she had suffered depression during her professional basketball career, and attempted suicide on one occasion. The struggle came from the immense pressure put on her to be the best and carry the Jordanian expectations throughout her career. With her grandmother’s guidance and words in mind, Holdsclaw was able to find support, turn her life around, and get through the tough times.
Now, after having some struggles away from the sport, Holdsclaw speaks to the younger generation telling her story and providing guidance. NBA Cares, the JED Foundation, and filmmaker Rick Goldsmith crated the documentary, Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw, to help tell Holdsclaw’s story and experience with mental illness. She is now an ambassador with the JED Foundation as an advocate for mental health and wellness.
ORLANDO, Fla. (2022) – Chamique Holdsclaw is one of the most dominant women to ever play basketball. Setting milestones all along her way, Holdsclaw broke records in high school, college, and in the WNBA. Her success did not stop once she stepped off the court either, as she is devoted to spreading awareness on mental health for everyone.
Holdsclaw would become one of the greatest players to ever play in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She started in a New York neighborhood, just a girl with a dream. Her dream and her drive would take her to heights unimaginable by most, especially for a girl in Holdsclaw’s shoes.
Born in 1977 in the inner city of Queens, New York, Holdsclaw lived with her parents until she was 11 years old. Growing up was not easy for Holdsclaw, as on some nights she was the only one in the house to take care of her younger brother and scrounge for meals. Her young parents struggled with alcoholism and often would leave the children abandoned. Growing up in a neighborhood best-known for depravity and crime, Holdsclaw began to look up to her grandmother, June Holdsclaw. June took in Chamique and her brother when she was 11 and provided them with a structured home life.
“My grandmother gave me so much attention,” Holdsclaw told Sports Illustrated. “I was established, going to school and playing basketball.”
Her grandmother made sure that Holdsclaw would be a well-rounded individual. Enrolled at Queens Lutheran School, Holdsclaw would study ballet and jazz, even performing on stage at New York’s Lincoln Center. But her passion was on blacktop courts. Living just miles away from basketball’s mecca, Madison Square Garden, Holdsclaw dreamed she’d be playing there as an adult. Basketball became her escape.
“I would take all my frustrations out on the basketball court,” Holdsclaw said in an interview. “It took me out of my environment; it allowed me to do better for myself and my family. It allowed me to educate myself.”
After learning more about the game from her uncle, Holdsclaw was always at the court. She earned the nickname “Flat-out” for her flat-out refusal to miss an opportunity to play basketball with her friends. She was playing with, and beating all of the boys at her after school programs. Holdsclaw credits her skill in basketball to those early years. The skirmishes she enjoyed on the playground as she beat the neighborhood boys made her better. That toughness would lead her to Christ the King High School where the milestones began.
While at Christ the King High School, Holdsclaw knew nothing but winning. In four years, her team had a record of 106 wins and only 4 losses. And Holdsclaw was at the center of it all, being named an All-American all four years. During the summers in between the school year, Holdsclaw was refining her skills and traveling the country while playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournaments for her coach, Vincent Cannizzaro. By the time high school had ended, Holdsclaw was leaving behind two school records. She accumulated 2,118 points and 1,532 rebounds, the all-time record for the school. This success caught the eye of one of the greatest college coaches ever, Pat Summitt.
Holdsclaw accepted a scholarship to the University of Tennessee where she would study Political Science, and play for Pat Summitt and the Lady Volunteers. The success followed from high school to college, and Holdsclaw would continue to break records. Her confidence and will to win kept pushing forward.
“Coaching Holdsclaw was an opportunity to raise the intensity level of one of the most gifted high school players I’d seen,” Pat Summitt said in Time Magazine. “She used to laugh away losses, but she hates to lose.”
As a freshman starter under Summitt, Holdsclaw was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week in her very first week. ESPN named her the College Basketball Player of the Week, making her the first woman to ever get that nod. That was a glimpse of what was to come for Tennessee fans. During her career with the Volunteers, Holdsclaw would become a 4 time All-American, won 3 consecutive NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships (first women’s NCAA team to ever do so), finished with a 131-7 overall record, and set records as a teammate and as an individual.
By the time her college career ended, Holdsclaw was the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at Tennessee in men’s or women’s basketball. She was the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in SEC women’s history, and the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in the NCAA Women’s Tournament history. As a teammate, she was the leader of Tennessee’s first ever undefeated season, going 39-0 as a junior in 1998. This also set an NCAA record for most wins in a single season. For all of her efforts, many awards were given.
Holdsclaw left college as the most decorated women’s basketball player ever; a four-time All-American, two-time Associated Press Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, a two-time Naismith winner, two-time Espy award winner as women’s college player of the year, and was named Naismith’s Player of the Century for the 1990s. She also broke barriers. In 1998 she became the first ever female college athlete to win the AAU’s most prestigious award, the James E. Sullivan Award, as the top amateur athlete in the nation.
Her unsurpassed accomplishments as an athlete have caused many to call Holdsclaw the greatest player to ever play women’s college sports. Her skills caused some to call her the female Michael Jordan. And her success did not end in college. After graduating from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Holdsclaw was ready to join the newly formed WNBA.
Surprising no one, Holdsclaw was the number-one draft choice in 1999, joining the Washington Mystics. Her drive to be the best continued in the WNBA as she was named the Rookie of the Year in 1999. Holdsclaw would play for the Mystics as well as the Los Angeles Sparks, Atlanta Dream, and the San Antonio Silver Stars over her 11 year professional career. She was the league’s scoring champion in 2002, a two-time rebounding champion, and a six-time WNBA All-Star. Holdsclaw also was a part of Team USA in 2000 winning the Gold Medal at the Sydney Olympics. In 2018, Holdsclaw was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Holdsclaw’s talent and humility made her a candidate for many endorsement deals and had fans flocking to watch the WNBA. She changed how women were viewed in sports. “Chamique has changed the face of women’s sports,” said Olympic great, Jackie Joyner-Kersee. “She's brought ordinary people into watching the sport. Now you see men outside the arena holding signs that say, NEED TICKETS.”
Since retiring, Holdsclaw has dedicated her life and devoted her time to raising awareness for mental health and wellness. She spends much of her focus and time by making appearances and speaking at various conferences and events within the mental health community to share her own personal struggles with depression and how she has been able to manage her own mental health.
Holdsclaw wrote in her autobiography, Breaking Through: Beating the Odds Shot after Shot, that she had suffered depression during her professional basketball career, and attempted suicide on one occasion. The struggle came from the immense pressure put on her to be the best and carry the Jordanian expectations throughout her career. With her grandmother’s guidance and words in mind, Holdsclaw was able to find support, turn her life around, and get through the tough times.
Now, after having some struggles away from the sport, Holdsclaw speaks to the younger generation telling her story and providing guidance. NBA Cares, the JED Foundation, and filmmaker Rick Goldsmith crated the documentary, Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw, to help tell Holdsclaw’s story and experience with mental illness. She is now an ambassador with the JED Foundation as an advocate for mental health and wellness.
