basketball player
Personal Information
Born December 17, 1971, in Collierville, TN; one of four children.
Education: Attended University of Tennessee, 1991?95.
Career
Was star player for national women's collegiate basketball team, University of Tennessee, 1991?95; missed entire season of action with knee injury, 1990?91; played on USA Women's World Championship Qualifying Tournament Team, 1993; played for U.S. Olympic women's basketball team, 1996; joined Columbus Quest of American Basketball League (ABL), 1996; signed three-year contract with Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), 1997; played in WNBA All- Star European tour, 1997; named to WNBA expansion team Washington Mystics, 1997.
Life's Work
Starring on basketball courts in collegiate, Olympics, and professional competition, Nikki McCray has established herself as one of the best players in women's basketball in the 1990s. Her stellar performances have helped increase the popularity of the women's game, which at one time struggled to draw fans into arenas. McCray also caused a stir when she defected from the American Basketball League (ABL) to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 1997, after leading the Columbus Quest to the ABL championship. Her move after the ABL's first season was thought by some to signal the beginning of a war for the best talent between the two leagues, which each had their first season of play in 1997.
While growing up in Tennessee, McCray early on became obsessed with basketball. Her grandmother helped her develop her skills by making sure she wasn't denied the chance to play with boys. "When Nikki was younger and her male cousins didn't want to let her play ball with them out in the yard, her grandmother would come outside and declare: 'If she can't play, y'all can't play,'" claimed an article in Seventeen magazine. McCray had no problem with the attention drawn to her as the only girl playing with boys, since she enjoyed being in the spotlight on the court or anywhere else. "I was always being voted Most Popular or Most Cutest or whatever," she told Seventeen.
After growing to 5'11" and starring as a guard on her high school team, McCray enrolled in one of the nation's powerhouses in women's basketball, the University of Tennessee. While there her impressive talent was further advanced by coach Pat Summitt, who remained a good friend and advisor to McCray after she graduated from college. McCray was a key part of her college team, known as the Lady Volunteers, helping them log up a 122-11 record while there. Twice she was named to the All-American team in college, and she was given the honor of College Player of the Year for her conference during those years as well.
McCray's tenacity as a competitor was made clear in a game versus Stanford University in 1995 when she played with a broken hand and still managed to score 21 points. That season McCray was key to the team's making the national finals, where they lost a tight game to the University of Connecticut. Eager to demonstrate her variety of talents whenever possible, McCray showcased her voice by singing the national anthem on occasion before several college basketball and volleyball games.
After graduating from college in 1995, McCray became an obvious choice for the U.S. women's "Dream Team" that would compete in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Her dedication to peak fitness for the Games was shown by her extra exercise sessions after basketball practices, when she worked out on a stairmaster or stationary bike to increase her endurance and strength. Her presence on the court helped the U.S. team beat out a strong squad from Brazil for the gold medal at the Games.
McCray's timing could not have been better, as her recent success at the Olympics made her a highly desirable player for the new American Basketball League (ABL) for professional women players that had its inaugural season a few months after the Olympics were over. McCray signed a one-year contract with the Columbus Quest for $125,000, according to the New York Times, then wasted no time making the team one of the top contenders in the fledgling league. While taking the Quest to the ABL's first championship, she racked up per-game averages of 19.9 points, five rebounds, and 2.7 assists en route to being named the league's Most Valuable Player.
According to the Bergen Record, there were reports that McCray had been looking to triple her first-year ABL salary of $150,000 after her stellar first season. The same source reported that League officials thought her salary demands were too excessive. After the season was over she shocked many fans by deciding to leave a proven winner and accept a reduction in salary to sign a multiyear contract with the WNBA. Her decision was based on the WNBA offering greater potential for endorsements and other commercial opportunities, due to the league's success at generating fan and corporate support. McCray was helped in making her decision to jump leagues by her former coach, Pat Summitt, who agreed that it made sense for her to make the switch. "I looked at both options," she told the Bergen Record. "I felt the WNBA was the best option for me. It was a tough decision." McCray agreed to jump leagues without even knowing which team she would play for in the WNBA. It was determined later that she would play on one of two expansion teams being formed in Detroit and Washington.
Upon joining the WNBA, McCray was named to a league team that toured Europe in October of 1997. As part of this team she played in games in Germany and Italy, as well as appearing at the McDonalds' basketball tournament in Paris, France. Around this time it was announced by the WNBA that McCray would be playing for the Washington Mystics team in the upcoming season. She and Alessandra Santos de Oliveira were the first players named to the new team's 1998 roster. "This is a great way to begin shaping our team," commented the team's head coach Jim Lewis at a ceremony at the MCI Center's National Sports Gallery in Washington, D.C., according to the WNBA Web site. "To have a player of Nikki McCray's caliber gives us a strong foundation." After being officially introduced as a new player on the team, McCray showed her humanitarian side by visiting the city's Children's Hospital to talk with patients.
McCray is well-known for her intensive training regimen as a player. "I'm the type of person who's an overachiever," she told Sport magazine. After regular practices, she often continues her workout with 20 minutes of shooting, and an additional 20 minutes of aerobic training. According to an article in Sport, McCray's standard offseason training week consists of 30-minute weightlifting workouts three days a week, which are followed by an hour of running on the track or court and finished with 500 to 1,000 jump shots. On the other two days, she plays two-and-half hours of basketball, undergoes an hour of aerobic workouts and drills in ball handling, and makes shots off the dribble while being guarded by another player. "Whether it's getting ready for that track workout or getting ready for that court workout, I want to prepare myself," she confided to Sport.
McCray hopes to work in the sports marketing department of a major corporation after her playing days are over, according to the NBC Olympics Web site on the Internet. Before that time, she is planning on a long and successful pro career on the court.
Awards
High School All-America team (Parade, Converse, USA Today); Best Defensive Player, University of Tennessee, 1992; College Player of the Year (women's basketball), Southeastern Conference, 1994, 1995; Most Valuable Player, ABL, 1997.
Further Reading
Periodicals
- Bergen Record, September 17, 1997.
- New York Times, March 6, 1997, p. B18; September 17, 1997, p. C2.
- Seventeen, October 1996, p. 70.
- Sport, December 1997, p. 22.
- Additional information for this profile was obtained from the Lifetime, NBC Olympics, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and World Africa Web sites on the Internet.
— Ed Decker
