Athletes

Kym Hampton is currently a member of the Women's Sports Foundation's Athlete Relations Committee. A former member of the Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) New York Liberty, Kym Hampton decided to hang up her sneakers after the 1999 season. She was the 2002 recipient of the Women's Sports Foundation Yolanda L. Jackson Give Back Award. Over the years she has also maintained her status as a spokesperson for both the Liberty and the WNBA. In her third and final season as the starting center for the Liberty, she led the team to the 1999 WNBA championship series against the two-time defending champions, the Houston Comets. Hampton finished the season ranked in the league's top 20 for rebounds and was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team for the first WNBA All-Star Game in New York. In 1998 she had a banner season, posting career highs in points (22), field goals (8), defensive rebounds (11) and minutes played in a single game (39). In 1997, she scored a team-high 13 points and 13 rebounds against the Comets in the inaugural WNBA championship game. Hampton and the Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie took part in the WNBA's first tip on June 21, 1997 in Los Angeles. She was New York's first-round (fourth overall) pick in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft. Prior to joining the WNBA, she played professional basketball for 12 and a half years overseas. During her last three seasons in Italy, Hampton was a three-time Italian League All-Star selection and led the league in rebounding in 1996. She graduated from Arizona State in 1984, where she compiled more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds and ranks ninth on the NCAA's all-time career rebounds list. Since retiring, Hampton has been pursuing her passion for music by working with various producers in the music industry. In May 2007, Hampton was one of the seven women chosen by Queen Latifah to share their stories as part of the Covergirl Queen Collection. (11/07)