Teresa Edwards

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Teresa Edwards on the Minnesota Lynx
Teresa Edwards on the Minnesota Lynx

Teresa Edwards (born July 19, 1964 in Cairo, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player.

Contents

[edit] College years

Edwards began her career at the University of Georgia where she was a two time All-American. She also led Georgia Bulldogs, to the Final Four on two occasions and played in her first Olympic Games as a collegian, in 1984. Her college jersey number (#5) was retired, making her one of only three Lady Bulldog players given that honor.

She finally earned her degree in Leisure Studies in 1989.

[edit] ABL career

Edwards was the star player and head coach for the Atlanta Glory of the American Basketball League (ABL). She also played for the Philadelphia Rage.

[edit] WNBA career

Edwards did not turn to the WNBA, later claiming that if she had joined, she would be receiving the minimum salary due to her status as an WNBA "rookie".

During the 2003 WNBA Draft, at the urging of Minnesota Lynx head coach Suzie McConnell Serio, the Lynx selected Edwards even though she was 38 years old. Edwards and Serio were teammates on the women's basketball team during the Summer Olympics of 1988 and 1992.

Edwards played for the Lynx during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Afterwards, her contract expired and she became a free agent. But no other WNBA team offered her a contract for the 2005 season.

[edit] International career

Olympic medal record
Women's Basketball
Gold Los Angeles 1984 Team Competition
Gold Seoul 1988 Team Competition
Bronze Barcelona 1992 Team Competition
Gold Atlanta 1996 Team Competition
Gold Sydney 2000 Team Competition

After Edwards graduated, she went abroad as there was not a professional basketball league for women in the United States. She played abroad for nine seasons splitting time between Italy, Japan, Spain, and France (Tarbes and Valenciennes). During this time, she also continued to appear in international competition.

After the 1994 season, she stayed in the United States to train for her fourth Olympic appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Edwards was selected to take the competitors' oath at the Opening Ceremonies in Atlanta.

Edwards is the first basketball player -- male or female -- to have played in five Olympics. She competed for the United States in international competition a total of 19 times. Her teams won 14 gold medals.

She also holds the unique distinction of being in the youngest gold medalist in women's basketball (age 20 in 1984) and the oldest gold medalist in women's basketball (age 36 in 2000).

She made a record fifth Olympic basketball team, earning a fourth gold medal to go with her bronze medal. She returned to Europe in 2002.

She also holds the record for points in a women's basketball game in the United States with 46.

[edit] Trivia

  • In 2000, she was named by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of the "100 Greatest Female Athletes of the 20th Century". She was ranked #22 overall.

[edit] Vital statistics

[edit] External links

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