View source for Cynthia Cooper-Dyke

{{Short description|American basketball player and coach (born 1963)}}
{{for|the accountant|Cynthia Cooper (accountant)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name               = Cynthia Cooper
| image              = Cynthia Cooper-Dyke in 2011.jpg
| caption            = Cooper-Dyke in 2011
| height_ft          = 5
| height_in          = 10
| weight_lb          = 150
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1963|04|14}}
| birth_place        = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| high_school        = [[Locke High School|Locke]] ([[Los Angeles, California]])
| college            = [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]] (1982–1986)
| career_start       = 1986
| career_end         = 2003
| career_number      = 14
| career_position    = [[Point guard]] / [[shooting guard]]
| coach_start        = 2001
| coach_end          = 2022
| years1             = 1986–1987
| team1              = [[Bétera - Valencian Region / Spain]]
| years2             = 1987–1994
| team2              = [[Basket Parma]]
| years3             = 1994–1996
| team3              = [[SC Alcamo]]
| years4             = {{WNBA Year|1997}}–{{WNBA Year|2000}}, {{WNBA Year|2003}}
| team4              = [[Houston Comets]]
| cyears1            = [[2001 WNBA season|2001]]–[[2002 WNBA season|2002]]
| cteam1             = [[Phoenix Mercury]]
| cyears2            = 2005–2010
| cteam2             = [[Prairie View A&M Panthers and Lady Panthers|Prairie View A&M]]
| cyears3            = 2010–2012
| cteam3             = [[UNC Wilmington Seahawks women's basketball|UNC Wilmington]]
| cyears4            = 2012–2013
| cteam4             = [[Texas Southern Lady Tigers basketball|Texas Southern]]
| cyears5            = 2013–2017
| cteam5             = [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]]
| cyears6            = 2019–2022
| cteam6             = Texas Southern
| highlights         = 
'''As player:'''
* 4× [[WNBA Championship|WNBA champion]] (1997–2000)
* 4× [[WNBA Finals MVP Award|WNBA Finals MVP]] (1997–2000)
* 2× [[WNBA MVP Award|WNBA MVP]] (1997, 1998)
* 3× [[WNBA All-Star Game|WNBA All-Star]] ([[1999 WNBA All-Star Game|1999]], [[2000 WNBA All-Star Game|2000]], [[2003 WNBA All-Star Game|2003]])
* 4× [[All-WNBA Team|All-WNBA First Team]] ({{WNBA Year|1997}}–{{WNBA Year|2000}})
* 3× [[List of Women's National Basketball Association season scoring leaders|WNBA scoring champion]] (1997–1999)
* [[WNBA All-Decade Team|WNBA 10th Anniversary Team]] (2006)
* [[WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time|WNBA 15th Anniversary Team]] (2011)
* [[WNBA Top 20@20|WNBA 20th Anniversary Team]] (2016)
* [[The W25|WNBA 25th Anniversary Team]] (2021)
* 2× [[List of NCAA Women's Division I Basketball champions|NCAA champion]] (1983, 1984)
*No. 14 retired by [[Houston Comets#Retired numbers|Houston Comets]]
* No. 44 [[USC Trojans women's basketball#Retired numbers|retired by USC Trojans]]
'''As coach:'''
* [[Colonial Athletic Association|CAA]] Coach of the Year (2011)
| stats_league = WNBA
| stat1label = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value = 2,601 (21.0 ppg)
| stat2label = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value = 403 (3.3 rpg)
| stat3label = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
| stat3value = 602 (4.9 apg)
| wnba_profile = cynthia_cooper
| medaltemplates     = 
{{MedalSport | Women's [[basketball]] }}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Olympic Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]] | [[Basketball at the 1988 Summer Olympics|Team competition]] }}
{{MedalBronze | [[1992 Summer Olympics|1992 Barcelona]] | [[Basketball at the 1992 Summer Olympics|Team competition]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Pan American Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1987 Pan American Games|1987 Indianapolis]] | [[Basketball at the 1987 Pan American Games|Team competition]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[FIBA World Championship for Women|FIBA World Championship]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1986 FIBA World Championship for Women|1986 Moscow]] | Team competition }}
{{MedalGold | [[1990 FIBA World Championship for Women|1990 Malaysia]] | Team competition }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[R. William Jones Cup|Jones Cup]] }}
{{MedalSilver | [[USA Women's R. William Jones Cup Team#1981|1981 Taipei]] | Team competition }}
{{MedalSport | Assistant coach for {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[FIBA Under-19 World Championship for Women|FIBA Under-19 World Championship]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[USA Women's U18 and U19 teams|2007 Bratislava]] | Team competition }}
| show-medals        = no
| HOF_player         = cynthia-cooper-dyke
| womensHOF          = cynthia-cooper-dyke
}}

'''Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke''' (born April 14, 1963) is an American [[basketball]] coach and former player who has won championships in college, in the [[Basketball at the Summer Olympics|Olympics]], and in the [[Women's National Basketball Association]] (WNBA). She is considered to be one of the greatest female basketball players ever.<ref name="SI" /> Upon the WNBA's formation, she played for the [[Houston Comets]] from 1997 to 2000, being named the [[WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]] of the [[WNBA Finals]] in four straight seasons.

Cooper served as the coach of the [[Phoenix Mercury]] in the WNBA from 2001 to 2002. In the NCAA, she was college coach for [[UNC Wilmington Seahawks women's basketball|UNC Wilmington]], [[Prairie View A&M Panthers and Lady Panthers|Prairie View A&M]], [[Texas Southern Lady Tigers basketball|Texas Southern]], and [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]] between 2005 and 2022.

Cooper-Dyke was inducted into the [[Women's Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 2009 and the [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 2010. She has been member of every WNBA Anniversary Team (10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th) since their creation. In 2011, Cooper was voted by fans as one of the top 15 players in WNBA history.

==Early years==

===High school===
Cooper attended [[Locke High School]] before enrolling at the [[University of Southern California]]. Cooper participated athletically in both track and field as well as basketball. She led her team to the California State Championship (4A) scoring an average of 31 points per game, and scoring 44 points in one game. Cooper was named the Los Angeles Player of the Year.<ref name="porter" />

===College===
Cooper was a four-year letter winner at guard for USC from 1982 to 1986. She led the Women of Troy to NCAA appearances in all four years, Final Four appearances in three of her four years, and back-to-back NCAA tournament titles in [[1983 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|1983]] and [[1984 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|1984]].<ref name="porter" /> After the 1984 Championship, she briefly left school, but was persuaded to return. She completed four years with USC, although she did not graduate.<ref name="grundy" /> Cooper closed out her collegiate career with an appearance in the [[1986 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|1986 NCAA tournament]] championship game and a spot on the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team. Cooper ranks eighth on USC's all-time scoring list with 1,559 points, fifth in assists (381) and third in steals (256). While Cooper was at USC, the Women of Troy compiled a record of 114–15.  She earned her bachelor's degree from Prairie View A&M University in 2005.<ref name="porter" />

===USC statistics===
Source<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/misc/wbbfinest.pdf|title=Women's Basketball Finest|website=fs.ncaa.org|access-date=2017-10-02}}</ref>
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!Points
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
|1982–83
|USC
|25
|351
|48.5%
|67.0%
|3.6
|NA
|14.0
|-
|1983–84
|USC
|33
|313
|47.0%
|50.8%
|4.1
|NA
|9.5
|-
|1984–85
|USC
|25
|233
|46.6%
|64.6%
|3.5
|NA
|9.3
|-
|1985–86
|USC
|'''36'''
|'''620'''
|'''50.6%'''
|'''74.8%'''
|'''4.6'''
|'''2.9'''
|'''17.2'''
|-
|Career
|
|119
|1517
|48.7%
|66.4%
|4.0
|0.9
|12.7
|}

==Career==

===Team USA===
Cooper was named to represent the US at the 1981 [[William Jones Cup]] competition in [[Taipei, Taiwan]], while still in high school. The team won seven of eight games to win the silver medal for the event. Cooper scored 2.8 points per game and recorded nine steals.<ref name="1981 Jones Cup" />

Cooper was selected to represent the US at the inaugural Goodwill games, held in [[Moscow]] in July 1986. [[North Carolina State]]'s [[Kay Yow]] served as head coach. The team opened up with a 72–53 win over Yugoslavia and followed that with a 21-point win over Brazil 91–70.  The third game was against Czechoslovakia and would be much closer. [[Cheryl Miller]] was the scoring leader in this game, scoring 26 points to help the US to a 78–70 victory.  The US faced Bulgaria in the semi-final match up, and again won, this time 67–58. This set up the final against the Soviet Union, led by 7-foot-2 [[Ivilana Semenova]], considered the most dominant player in the world. The Soviet team had a 152–2 record in major international competition over the prior three decades, including an 84–82 win over the US in the 1983 World Championships. The Soviets held the early edge, leading 21–19 at one time, before the US went on a scoring run to take a large lead they did not relinquish.  The final score was 83–60 in favor of the US, earning the gold medal for the US squad.  Cooper averaged 2.0 points per game.<ref name="1986 Goodwill" />

Cooper continued to represent the US with the national team at the 1986 World Championship, held in Moscow, a month after the Goodwill Games in Moscow.  The US team was even more dominant this time.  The early games were won easily, and the semifinal against Canada, while the closest game for the US so far, ended up an 82–59 victory.  At the same time, the Soviet team was winning easily as well, and the final game pitted two teams each with 6–0 records. The Soviet team, having lost only once at home, wanted to show that the Goodwill games setback was a fluke.  The US team started by scoring the first eight points, and raced to a 45–23 lead, although the Soviets fought back and reduced the halftime margin to 13.  The US went on a 15–1 run in the second half to put the game away and ended up winning the gold medal with a score of 108–88.  Cooper averaged 5.9 points per game.<ref name="1986 WC" />

Cooper played for [[USA Basketball]] as part of the 1987 [[USA Women's Pan American Team]] which won a gold medal in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Cooper was a member of the gold medalist 1988 US Olympic Women's Basketball Team.,<ref name="USABB" /> and the Bronze Medal team in 1992.<ref name="USABB2" />

===International===
Cooper played for several teams in the European leagues:<ref name="porter" />
* Samoa Bétera (Spain) 1986–1987 (36.7 ppg)
* [[Basket Parma|Parma]] (Italy) 1987–1994
* [[Basket Alcamo|Alcamo]] (Italy) 1994–1996

During her time playing for Samoa Bétera, a Spanish team, she was the league leading scorer with 36.7 ppg. During the almost ten years she played in the Italian leagues, she was the league's leading scorer eight times and finished second the other two years.<ref name="porter" />

In 1987, she was the MVP of the European All-Star team. She was also named to the All-Star team of the Italian leagues in 1996–1997.<ref name="porter" />

===WNBA===
At the age of 34, Cooper signed to play with the [[Houston Comets]]. Cooper has the distinction of scoring the most points out of all players who participated in the first day of the WNBA's conception. On June 21, 1997, 58 women across 6 teams suited up to kick off the WNBA's first scheduled day of competition. On that day, the Comets earned a 76–56 win over the [[Cleveland Rockers]] where Cooper recorded 25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706210CLE.html | title=Houston Comets at Cleveland Rockers, June 21, 1997 }}</ref> She was the only player that day to score 20+ points, thus making her the first player in WNBA history to have a 20-point game.

She led the league in scoring three consecutive years, leading the franchise to a record four [[WNBA Finals|WNBA Championships]].  In addition, she was voted the [[WNBA Most Valuable Player Award|WNBA's MVP]] in 1997 and 1998 and named Most Valuable Player in each of those four WNBA Finals. On July 25, 1997, Cooper set the record for the most points scored by a first-year player when she scored 44 points against the [[Sacramento Monarchs]]. This record still stands 28 years later but it was tied by Dallas Wings rookie [[Paige Bueckers]] on August 20, 2025, when Bueckers recorded 44 points in an 80–81 loss to the [[Los Angeles Sparks]]. Many sources cite Bueckers as the "official" record holder for most points scored in a game by a rookie. This is because when Cooper set the record in 1997, it was the WNBA's inaugural season, so every player in the league was technically a "rookie" and many players (including Cooper) already had professional basketball experience from playing in other leagues.<ref>{{cite web | title='Unreal' Paige Bueckers sets WNBA rookie scoring record with 44 points in Wings loss | work=The Guardian | url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/aug/21/unreal-paige-bueckers-sets-wnba-rookie-scoring-record-with-44-points-in-wings-loss }}</ref>

Cooper was named the 1998 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation.<ref name="WSF" /> During the Comet dynasty, she was a vital part of the triple threat offense with [[Sheryl Swoopes]] and [[Tina Thompson]]. When retired in 2000, Cooper became the first player in WNBA history to score 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 2,500 career points. She scored 30 or more points in 16 of her 120 games and had a 92-game double-figure scoring streak from 1997 to 2000. She went on to coach the [[Phoenix Mercury]] for one and a half seasons (2001–2002).<ref name="wnba_coachfile">{{cite web|title=COACHES – Cynthia Cooper |url=http://www.wnba.com/coachfile/cynthia_cooper/ |access-date=August 4, 2014 |publisher=WNBA |website=wnba.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808051337/http://www.wnba.com/coachfile/cynthia_cooper/ |archive-date=August 8, 2014 |df=mdy }}</ref>

Cooper returned as an active player in the 2003 season and played only 4 games during that season with the Comets. Her appearance in the game on May 22, 2003, as a 40-year-old, made her the oldest player, at the time, to play in a WNBA game (later being broken by [[Nancy Lieberman-Cline]] who at 50 years old, played a game for the Detroit Shock on July 24, 2008).<ref name="porter" />

Cooper's final WNBA game ever was played on June 1, 2003, in a 68–64 loss to the [[Minnesota Lynx]] with Cooper recording 22 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/200306010MIN.html | title=Houston Comets at Minnesota Lynx, June 1, 2003 }}</ref>

Afterward, she served as a TV analyst and halftime reporter for the [[Houston Rockets]] of the [[NBA]]. Cooper has also been named one of the top 15 players in the WNBA at the 2011 WNBA All-Star game.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WNBA.com: AllStar 2011|url=https://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/allstar/2011/index.html|access-date=2021-05-30|website=www.wnba.com}}</ref> During Game 1 of the [[2016 WNBA Finals]], she was named in the [[WNBA Top 20@20]].

====Career statistics====
{{WNBA player statistics legend}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|†
|Denotes seasons in which Cooper won a [[WNBA Finals|WNBA championship]]
|-
|style="background:#E0CEF2; width:1em"|{{double dagger}}
|WNBA record
|}

=====Regular season=====
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| [[1997 WNBA season|1997]]<sup>†</sup>
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Houston Comets|Houston]]
| 28 || 28 || 35.1 || '''.470''' || '''.414''' || .864 || '''4.0''' || 4.7 || '''2.1''' || 0.2 || 3.89 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 22.2°
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|[[1998 WNBA season|1998]]<sup>†</sup>
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Houston Comets|Houston]]
| 30 || 30 || 35.0 || .446 || .400 || .854 || 3.7 || 4.4 || 1.6 || '''0.4''' || '''3.17''' || style="background:#D3D3D3" | '''22.7'''°
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| [[1999 WNBA season|1999]]<sup>†</sup>
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Houston Comets|Houston]]
| '''31''' || '''31''' || 35.5 || .463 || .335 || .891 || 2.8 || 5.2 || 1.4 || '''0.4''' || 3.35 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 22.1°
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| [[2000 WNBA season|2000]]<sup>†</sup>
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Houston Comets|Houston]]
| '''31''' || '''31''' || 35.0 || .459 || .355 || .875 || 2.7 || 5.0 || 1.3 || 0.2 || 3.19 || 17.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2003 WNBA season|2003]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Houston Comets|Houston]]
| 4 || 4 || '''36.0''' || .421 || .389 || '''.893''' || 2.5 || '''5.5''' || 1.0 || 0.3 || 3.50 || 16.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|5 years, 1 team
| 124 || 124 || bgcolor="EOCEF2" |35.2{{double dagger}}  || .459 || .377 || .871 || 3.2 || 4.9 || 1.6 || 0.3 || 3.40 || bgcolor="EOCEF2" |  21.0{{double dagger}} 
{{S-end}}

=====Playoffs=====
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|[[WNBA Playoffs#1997 season|1997]]{{sup|†}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Houston Comets|Houston]]
| 2 || 2 || 38.5 || '''.533''' || '''.400''' || .741 || '''4.5''' || 4.5 || 1.5 || 0.5 || 3.50 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | '''28.0'''°
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|[[WNBA Playoffs#1998 season|1998]]{{sup|†}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Houston Comets|Houston]]
| 5 || 5 || style="background:#D3D3D3" | '''39.6'''° || .452 || .250 || .844 || 3.2 || 4.4 || '''1.8''' || '''1.0''' || '''3.00''' || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 25.8°
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|[[WNBA Playoffs#1999 season|1999]]<sup>†</sup>
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Houston Comets|Houston]]
| '''6''' || '''6''' || 36.7 || .388 || .324 || .865 || 4.3 || '''6.8''' || 1.5 || '''1.0''' || 3.33 || 20.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| [[WNBA Playoffs#2000 season|2000]]<sup>†</sup>
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Houston Comets|Houston]]
| '''6''' || '''6''' || 38.0 || .378 || .344 || '''.897''' || 2.5 || 3.7 || 1.5 || 0.2 || '''3.00''' || style="background:#D3D3D3" | 22.8°
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|4 years, 1 team
| 19 || 19 || 38.1 || .416 || .317 || .847 || 3.5 || 4.9 || 1.6 || 0.7 || 3.16 || bgcolor="EOCEF2" | 23.3{{double dagger}} 
{{s-end}}

==College coaching career==

===Prairie View A&M (2005–2010)===
In May 2005, Cooper was named the head coach of the women's basketball team at [[Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University|Prairie View A&M University]]. In her second season in 2006–07, Cooper-Dyke led the underdog Panthers to their first [[SWAC women's basketball tournament]] title and [[2007 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|NCAA tournament]] appearance. Cooper-Dyke was named SWAC Coach of the Year for 2007.<ref name="Texas Southern"/>

In January 2008, the NCAA penalized Prairie View for NCAA rules violations committed by Cooper, reducing the number of scholarships for the team. The school was placed on four years' probation for "major violations" in 2005–2006 that ranged from Cooper giving players small amounts of cash to various forms of unauthorized practices. Cooper also gave players free tickets to Comets game, which is another NCAA infraction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/search/miCaseView?id=644|title=Major Infractions Case|date=January 8, 2008|publisher=NCAA|access-date=May 5, 2022}}</ref>

In five seasons at Prairie View, Cooper-Dyke had a cumulative 86–72 record.<ref name="NCAA"/>

===UNC Wilmington (2010–2012)===
On May 10, 2010, Cooper-Dyke was announced as the next head coach of the UNC Wilmington Seahawks Women's Basketball team.<ref name="UNC_Wilmington" /> In Cooper-Dyke's first season, UNCW achieved an historic high in wins with a 24–9 record and appeared in the [[2011 Women's National Invitation Tournament]].<ref name="Texas Southern">{{cite web|url=https://tsusports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/cynthia-cooper-dyke/1700|title=Cynthia Cooper-Dyke|publisher=Texas Southern University|access-date=May 5, 2022}}</ref> Cooper-Dyke was the 2011 [[Colonial Athletic Association]] Coach of the Year, her third conference yearly honor of that sort.<ref name="Texas Southern"/>

===First stint at Texas Southern (2012–2013)===
On April 10, 2012, Cooper resigned from UNCW and became the head coach at Texas Southern. The 2012–13 Texas Southern team went 20–12 and appeared in the [[2013 Women's National Invitation Tournament]].<ref name="Texas Southern"/>

===USC (2013–2017)===
On April 11, 2013. Cooper returned to [[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC]] as head coach.<ref name=LATimes>{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/usc/la-sp-usc-cynthia-cooper-20130412,0,1539626.story |title=Cynthia Cooper-Dyke to coach USC women's basketball |work=Los Angeles Times |first=Gary |last=Klein |date=April 12, 2013 |access-date=May 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413144452/http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/usc/la-sp-usc-cynthia-cooper-20130412,0,1539626.story|archive-date=April 13, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> In her first season, Cooper-Dyke led USC to a 22–13 (11–7 Pac-12) season with an appearance in the [[2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://usctrojans.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule/2013-14|title=2013-14 Women's Basketball Schedule|publisher=USC|access-date=May 5, 2022}}</ref> On March 3, 2017, Cooper-Dyke resigned as head coach at USC, following a 14–16 season in 2016–17 and 70–56 overall record.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.apnews.com/ae5d9eaaddc94c0fbe3a7e1da6557c18/Cynthia-Cooper-Dyke-resigns-as-USC-women's-basketball-coach|title=Cynthia Cooper-Dyke resigns as USC women's basketball coach|date=March 3, 2017|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=March 3, 2017}}</ref>

===Second stint at Texas Southern (2019–2022)===
In April 2019, she returned to coach at Texas Southern.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cynthia Cooper-Dyke to take the reins of TSU women's basketball|url=https://tsusports.com/news/2019/4/30/WBB_2019043001.aspx|access-date=2021-05-30|website=Texas Southern University Athletics|date=April 30, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Texas Southern had a 20–10 record in her first season back but had two straight losing seasons afterwards at 5–10 and 11–15.<ref name="NCAA"/> Cooper-Dyke retired on March 17, 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tsusports.com/news/2022/3/17/womens-basketball-head-coach-cooper-dyke-announces-her-retirement.aspx|title=Women's Basketball Head Coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke Announces Her Retirement|publisher=Texas Southern University|date=March 17, 2022|access-date=May 5, 2022}}</ref> She concluded her four seasons in two stints with a cumulative 56–47 record.<ref name="NCAA">{{cite web|url=http://stats.ncaa.org/people/26968|title=Cynthia Cooper-Dyke|publisher=NCAA|access-date=May 5, 2022}}</ref>

''[[The Athletic]]'' reported on May 5, 2022, that Texas Southern opened a [[Title IX]] investigation into Cooper-Dyke over accusations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. A hearing had been scheduled for April 6 but was canceled due to Cooper-Dyke no longer being employed by the university. Additional allegations of similar misconduct were revealed from her previous coaching jobs at UNC Wilmington and USC.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/college/2022/05/05/cynthia-cooper-dyke-accused-of-abusive-behavior-womens-basketball|title=Players Accuse Cynthia Cooper-Dyke of Abusive Behavior, per Report|last=Perez|first=Daniela|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=May 5, 2022|access-date=May 5, 2022}}</ref>

==Halls of Fame==
Cooper was inducted into the [[Women's Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 2009.<ref name="WBHOF" /> She was also announced as a member of the 2010 induction class of the [[Basketball Hall of Fame|Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]] (the first WNBA player to be inducted) and was formally inducted on August 13 of that year.<ref name="NHOF" />

==Personal life==
Although born in [[Chicago, Illinois]], Cooper-Dyke grew up in [[South Central Los Angeles]], California. Cooper-Dyke is the daughter of Mary and Kenny Cooper. Her father left the family when she was only six years old, leaving her mother to raise eight children.<ref name="porter" /> Cooper-Dyke attended the [[University of Southern California]] and played on their women's basketball team for four years, winning NCAA championships in 1983 and 1984 with star teammate [[Cheryl Miller]], but left in 1986 before earning a degree. She played on international women's basketball teams in Spain and Italy for a decade before returning to the US to play for the [[Houston Comets]]. While abroad she learned to speak Italian fluently.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-18|title=SoCal Legends: Cynthia Cooper-Dyke|url=https://lasentinel.net/socal-legends-cynthia-cooper-dyke.html|access-date=2021-05-30|website=Los Angeles Sentinel|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2000, she published her autobiography, entitled ''She Got Game: My Personal Odyssey'',<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-05-30|title=Q+A: Cynthia Cooper|url=https://www.slamonline.com/wnba/qa-cynthia-cooper/|access-date=2021-05-30|website=SLAM|language=en}}</ref> which covered her childhood, her basketball career up to that time, and her mother's battle with [[breast cancer]].

Her first marriage was on July 30, 1993, to Anthony Stewart in San Antonio, Texas. On April 28, 2001, she married Brian Dyke.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Cynthia Cooper-Dyke {{!}} Biography & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cynthia-Cooper|access-date=2021-05-30|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> She is a mother to twins<ref name=":0" /> &ndash; a son, Brian Jr., and a daughter, Cyan, born June 15, 2002.

==Head coaching record==

===WNBA===
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[2001 Phoenix Mercury season|Phoenix]]
| style="text-align:left;"|[[2001 WNBA season|2001]]
|32||13||19||{{Winning percentage|13|19}}|| align="center"|5th|||—||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[2002 Phoenix Mercury season|Phoenix]]
| style="text-align:left;"|[[2002 WNBA season|2002]]
|10||6||4||{{Winning percentage|6|4}}|| align="center"|(resigned)|||—||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
|- class="sortbottom"
| align="center" colspan="2"|'''Career'''
|42||19||23||{{Winning percentage|19|23}}|| ||—||—||—||—||
{{s-end}}

===College===
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type=coach | conference= |postseason=}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name=[[Prairie View A&M Panthers]]
| startyear=2005
| conference=[[Southwestern Athletic Conference]]
| endyear= 2010
| }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = 2005–06
 | name         = Prairie View A&M
 | overall      = 7–21
 | conference   = 6–12
 | confstanding = T–8th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = confboth
 | season       = 2006–07
 | name         = Prairie View A&M
 | overall      = 19–14
 | conference   = 14–4
 | confstanding = T–1st
 | postseason   = [[2007 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|NCAA first round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = 2007–08
 | name         = Prairie View A&M
 | overall      = 22–12
 | conference   = 15–3
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[2008 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = confboth
 | season       = 2008–09
 | name         = Prairie View A&M
 | overall      = 23–11
 | conference   = 17–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[2009 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|NCAA first round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2009–10]]
 | name         = Prairie View A&M
 | overall      = 15–14
 | conference   = 12–6
 | confstanding = 2nd
 | postseason   = [[2010 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Prairie View A&M
 | overall    = 86–72 ({{Winning percentage|86|72}})
 | confrecord = 64–26 ({{Winning percentage|64|26}})
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name=[[UNC Wilmington Seahawks women's basketball|UNC Wilmington Seahawks]]
| startyear=2010
| conference=[[Colonial Athletic Association]]
| endyear=2012
| }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = 2010–11
 | name         = UNC Wilmington
 | overall      = 24–9
 | conference   = 14–4
 | confstanding = T–2nd
 | postseason   = [[2011 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = 2011–12
 | name         = UNC Wilmington
 | overall      = 20–13
 | conference   = 11–7
 | confstanding = T–4th
 | postseason   = [[2012 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = UNCW
 | overall    = 44–22 ({{Winning percentage|44|22}})
 | confrecord = 25–11 ({{Winning percentage|25|11}})
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name=[[Texas Southern Tigers]]
| startyear=2012
| conference=Southwestern Athletic Conference
| endyear=2013
| }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[2012–13 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2012–13]]
 | name         = Texas Southern
 | overall      = 20–13
 | conference   = 16–2
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[2012 Women's National Invitation Tournament|WNIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Texas Southern (first)
 | overall    = 20–13 ({{Winning percentage|20|13}})
 | confrecord = 16–2 ({{Winning percentage|16|2}})
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name=[[USC Trojans women's basketball|USC Trojans]]
| startyear=2013
| conference=[[Pac-12 Conference]]
| endyear=2017
| }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference tournament
 | season       = [[2013–14 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2013–14]]
 | name         = [[2013–14 USC Trojans women's basketball team|USC]]
 | overall      = 22–13
 | conference   = 11–7
 | confstanding = T–4th
 | postseason   = [[2014 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|NCAA first round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2014–15]]
 | name         = [[2014–15 USC Trojans women's basketball team|USC]]
 | overall      = 15–15
 | conference   = 7–11
 | confstanding = T–7th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2015–16]]
 | name         = [[2015–16 USC Trojans women's basketball team|USC]]
 | overall      = 19–13
 | conference   = 6–12
 | confstanding = 8th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2016–17]]
 | name         = [[2016–17 USC Trojans women's basketball team|USC]]
 | overall      = 14–16
 | conference   = 5–13
 | confstanding = T–9th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = USC
 | overall    = {{Winning percentage|70|57|record=y}}
 | confrecord ={{Winning percentage|29|43|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name=Texas Southern Tigers
| startyear=2019
| conference=Southwestern Athletic Conference
| endyear=2022
| }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2019–20]]
 | name         = Texas Southern
 | overall      = 20–10
 | conference   = 14–4
 | confstanding = 2nd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2020–21]]
 | name         = Texas Southern
 | overall      = 5–10
 | conference   = 4–8
 | confstanding = 7th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2021–22]]
 | name         = Texas Southern
 | overall      = 11–15
 | conference   = 11–7
 | confstanding = T–4th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Texas Southern (second)
 | overall    = {{Winning percentage|36|45|record=y}}
 | confrecord = {{Winning percentage|29|19|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
 |overall     = {{Winning percentage|256|198|record=y}}
}}

==Awards and achievements==
* 2x Ronchetti Cup (1990, 1993)
* 2× WNBA MVP (1997, 1998)
* 3× WNBA All-Star (1999, 2000, 2003)
* 4× WNBA Champion (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
* 4× WNBA Finals MVP (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
* WNBA Hall of Fame (2009)
* [[Women's Basketball Hall of Fame]] (2009)
* [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame|Basketball Hall of Fame]] (2010)
* CAA Coach of the Year (2010)
* [[Women's Blue Chip Basketball League#WBCBL Professional Basketball Trailblazer Award|WBCBL Professional Basketball Trailblazer Award]] (2015)

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="porter">Porter p. 88–89</ref>

<ref name="SI">{{cite news |title=90. Cynthia Cooper, Basketball |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siforwomen/top_100/90/ |newspaper=Sports Illustrated for Women |access-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024143911/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siforwomen/top_100/90/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="grundy">Grundy p. 199–200</ref>

<ref name="USABB">{{cite web |url=http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=woly_1988 |title=Games of the XXIVth Olympiad -- 1988 |publisher=USA Basketball |access-date=2009-08-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914135521/http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=woly_1988 |archive-date=September 14, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

<ref name="USABB2">{{cite web |url=http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=woly_1992 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120424205809/http://www.usabasketball.com/womens/national/woly_1992.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-04-24 |title=Games of the XXVth Olympiad -- 1992 |publisher=USA Basketball |access-date=2009-08-15 }}</ref>

<ref name="WSF">{{cite web|url=http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/News-And-Events/Awards/Sportswoman-of-the-Year-Award.aspx |title=Sportswoman of the Year Award |publisher=Women's Sports Foundation |access-date=2009-08-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722204407/http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/News-And-Events/Awards/Sportswoman-of-the-Year-Award.aspx |archive-date=July 22, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref>

<ref name="1981 Jones Cup">{{cite web|title=1981 WOMEN'S R. WILLIAM JONES CUP|url=http://archive.usab.com/womens/wjcup_1981.html|publisher=USA Basketball|access-date=August 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808043853/http://archive.usab.com/womens/wjcup_1981.html|archive-date=August 8, 2014|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

<ref name="1986 Goodwill">{{cite web |title=First Women's Goodwill Games -- 1986 |date=June 10, 2010 |url=http://www.usab.com/history/additional-usa-basketball-history/first-womens-goodwill-games-1986.aspx |publisher=USA Basketball |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911232850/http://www.usab.com/history/additional-usa-basketball-history/first-womens-goodwill-games-1986.aspx |archive-date=September 11, 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 20, 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="1986 WC">{{cite web |title=Tenth World Championship For Women -- 1986 |date=August 14, 2013 |url=http://www.usab.com/history/national-team-womens/tenth-world-championship-for-women-1986.aspx |publisher=USA Basketball |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905200253/http://www.usab.com/history/national-team-womens/tenth-world-championship-for-women-1986.aspx |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 19, 2015}}</ref>

<!-- Not in use
<ref name="NCAA">{{cite web |url=https://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?key=/ncaa/NCAA/Media+and+Events/Press+Room/News+Release+Archive/2008/Infractions/Division+I+Committee+on+Infractions+Penalizes+Prairie+View+A+and+M+University+Womens+Basketball+Program |title=Division I Committee on Infractions Penalizes Prairie View A & M University Women's Basketball Program |publisher=NCAA |access-date=2009-08-02}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>
Not in use-->

<ref name="UNC_Wilmington">{{cite web |url=http://www.hbcudigest.com/2010/05/cynthia-cooper-dyke-leaves-prairie-view-for-unc-wilmington/ |title=Cynthia Cooper-Dyke Leaves Prairie View for UNC-Wilmington |publisher=HBCU Digest |access-date=May 16, 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514091019/http://www.hbcudigest.com/2010/05/cynthia-cooper-dyke-leaves-prairie-view-for-unc-wilmington/ |archive-date=May 14, 2010 |df=mdy }}</ref>

<ref name="WBHOF">{{cite web |url=http://www.wbhof.com/inductees.html |title=WBHOF Inductees |publisher=WBHOF |access-date=2009-08-01 |archive-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206134733/http://www.wbhof.com/Inductees.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="NHOF">{{cite press release |url=http://www.hoophall.com/news/2010/4/5/naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame-announces-class-of.html |title=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2010 |publisher=Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |date=2010-04-05 |access-date=2010-04-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409151224/http://www.hoophall.com/news/2010/4/5/naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame-announces-class-of.html |archive-date=April 9, 2010 |df=mdy }}</ref>

}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Cooper |first=Cynthia |title=She Got Game: My Personal Odyssey |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |date=June 1, 2000 |isbn=978-0-446-60839-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Grundy |first=Pamela |author2=Susan Shackelford |title=Shattering the Glass |url=https://archive.org/details/shatteringglassr0000grun |url-access=registration |publisher=The New Press |year=2005 |page=[https://archive.org/details/shatteringglassr0000grun/page/175 175] |isbn=1-56584-822-5}}
* {{cite book |title=Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary |editor=David L. Porter |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-313-30952-6}}

==External links==
* {{Basketballstats|wnba=cynthia-cooper}}
* {{FIBA profile|new_id=102880|name=Cynthia Lynne Cooper|old_id=2995}}
* {{Basketball-Reference.com international player|name=Cynthia Cooper}}
* {{Olympedia|name=Cynthia Cooper}}
* {{Olympics.com|cynthia-cooper|Cynthia Cooper}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper-Dyke, Cynthia}}
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