Nancy Lieberman: Difference between revisions
She was elected to the [[Basketball Hall of Fame]] as a player in 1996 and to the [[Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 1999.
She was elected to the [[Basketball Hall of Fame]] as a player in 1996 and to the [[Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 1999.
In the newly formed [[Women’s National Basketball Association|WNBA]]’s inaugural year in 1997, Lieberman played for the [[Phoenix Mercury]].{{harvnb|Skaine|2001|p=129}} At the age of 39, she was the WNBA’s oldest player. On July 24, 2008, at 50 years old, Lieberman signed a seven-day contract with the eventual WNBA Champion [[Detroit Shock]],{{cite web |url=http://www.wnba.com/transactions/WNBA_2008.html |title=2008 WNBA Transactions |access-date=July 12, 2009}} breaking her own previous record as the oldest player in league history. That same day, the Shock played a game against the [[Houston Comets]] where Lieberman saw playing time. Lieberman recorded two assists in nine minutes of playing time, but Detroit lost the game 79-61.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/l/liebena01w/gamelog/2008/|title=Nancy Lieberman 2008 Game Log|website=[[Basketball Reference]]|publisher=Sports Reference|accessdate=22 May 2023}} This ended up being her final WNBA game, as she was waived the next day on July 25, 2008.
In the newly formed [[Women’s National Basketball Association|WNBA]]’s inaugural year in 1997, Lieberman played for the [[Phoenix Mercury]].{{harvnb|Skaine|2001|p=129}} At the age of 39, she was the WNBA’s oldest player. On July 24, 2008, at 50 years old, Lieberman signed a seven-day contract with the eventual WNBA Champion [[Detroit Shock]],{{cite web |url=http://www.wnba.com/transactions/WNBA_2008.html |title=2008 WNBA Transactions |access-date=July 12, 2009}} breaking her own previous record as the oldest player in league history. That same day, the Shock played a game against the [[Houston Comets]] where Lieberman saw playing time. Lieberman recorded two assists in nine minutes of playing time, but Detroit lost the game 79-61.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/l/liebena01w/gamelog/2008/|title=Nancy Lieberman 2008 Game Log|website=[[Basketball Reference]]|publisher=Sports Reference|accessdate=22 May 2023}} This ended up being her final WNBA game, as she was waived the next day on July 25, 2008.
===National team career===
===National team career===
American former basketball player
Lieberman in 2018 |
|
| Born | July 1, 1958 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| High school | Far Rockaway (New York City, New York) |
| College | Old Dominion (1976–1980) |
| WNBA draft | 1997: 2 (Elite) round, 15th overall pick |
| Selected by the Phoenix Mercury | |
| Playing career | 1980–1987, 1997, 2008 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Coaching career | 1998–2000, 2009–2011, 2015–present |
| 1980–1981, 1984 | Dallas Diamonds |
| 1986 | Springfield Fame |
| 1987 | Long Island Knights |
| 1997 | Phoenix Mercury |
| 2008 | Detroit Shock |
| 1998–2000 | Detroit Shock |
| 2009–2011 | Texas Legends |
| 2015–2018 | Sacramento Kings (assistant) |
| As player: | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame as player | |
| Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Nancy Ilizabeth Lieberman (born July 1, 1958), nicknamed “Lady Magic“, is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) who is currently a broadcaster for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as the head coach of Power, a team in the BIG3 which she led to its 2018 Championship.[1][2] Lieberman is regarded as one of the greatest figures in American women’s basketball.[3][4]
In 2000, she was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame. Lieberman is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame,[5] the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame,[6] the St. Louis Jewish Sports Hall of Fame,[7] and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.[8]
Early life[edit]
Lieberman was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jerome and Renee Lieberman. She is Jewish (and described herself as “just a poor, skinny, redheaded Jewish girl from Queens”).[9][10] Her family lived in Brooklyn when she was born, but soon moved to Far Rockaway, Queens, where she grew up with her older brother Clifford.[11] She lost great-grandparents in the Holocaust, and her paternal grandparents, who survived, had concentration camp numbers on their wrists.[12]
Her mother brought up the children after a separation and divorce.[13] While growing up, she was interested in a variety of sports, playing baseball, softball and football with boys, before settling on basketball as her primary sport.[13] She played basketball primarily on pickup teams with boys, not playing on a girls’ team until she was a high school sophomore.[13]
Lieberman’s mother Renee was not supportive of her daughter’s interest in basketball. Once, when…