Yahoo News Former WNBA All-Star and 2-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Nikki McCray-Penson Dead at 51
The beloved women’s college basketball coach was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 and was reportedly dealing with pneumonia
Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire
Nikki McCray-Penson, a former WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, has died at 51.
The basketball star’s cause of death has yet to be confirmed, although she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 and was reportedly dealing with pneumonia.
Rutgers University, where McCray-Penson worked as an assistant women’s basketball coach last season, confirmed the news of her death on Friday, writing in a release that the basketball community was mourning the loss of the “trailblazer.”
"Today is a deeply sad and emotional day for everyone who knew and loved Nikki," Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington said via the university’s news release. "Nikki had a big smile and an even bigger heart. She was full of life, energy and was so much fun to be around. Nikki touched the lives of many because she made it her mission to uplift others and help them achieve whatever dreams and goals they expressed.”
Washington and McCray-Penson worked together for one year in Rutgers’ most recent season, just one stop of her 16-year coaching career.
“She was so devoted to her husband and son, and still gave all of herself to everyone in the program,” Washington continued. “We will miss her dearly but will keep Nikki's memory alive in our hearts."
McCray-Penson started her stellar basketball career in 1991 at the University of Tennessee. After her time as a college-level standout, she played two seasons in the American Basketball League, where she was an MVP and won the league's championship in 1997.
She won two Olympic gold medals playing for Team USA in 1996 and 2000, and went on to play nine seasons in the WNBA, where she was a three-time All-Star during her time playing for the Washington Mystics. She also played for the Indiana Fever, the Phoenix Mercury, the San Antonio Silver Stars and the Chicago Sky during her time in the league.
Related: Kelsey Plum Explains the 'Huge Misconception' About the WNBA's Fight for Better Pay
After her time starring in the WNBA, McCray-Penson became a revered women’s college basketball coach starting at Western Kentucky University in 2006. Three seasons later, she joined her Olympic teammate and friend Dawn Staley on the staff for the University of South Carolina, where she helped the team win their first national championship in 2017.
"It is with the heaviest of heart I have to post this," Staley wrote on Twitter. "Thank you my little sister, my friend, my foxhole partner, my teammate, my fast food snacker, my basketball junkie, my fellow Olympian, my gold medalist and now my angel. God's got you now ... suffer no more Nik Nik."
The women’s basketball legend most recently took on two head-coaching positions at Old Dominion University from 2017 through 2020, and at Mississippi State University from 2020 through 2021.
McCray-Penson was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. She is survived by her husband Thomas and son Thomas Jr.
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