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Teresa Weatherspoon couldn’t watch “The Shot” for years. It’s still not the easiest topic for her to discuss.
Weatherspoon is the head coach of the Chicago Sky, but 25 years ago she was a guard for the New York Liberty and facing the Houston Comets in the 1999 WNBA Finals. Houston led 67-65 with 2.4 seconds left in Game 2 of the best-of-three series on a basket from Tina Thompson. The Comets had a 1-0 series lead and were looking to close the deal and win their third consecutive league championship.
A minor miracle was needed for the Liberty to win — and Weatherspoon delivered in front of 16,285 fans at the Compaq Center in Houston. She caught an inbounds pass from Kym Hampton and launched a desperation, 50-foot shot, banking it in to give the Liberty an improbable 68-67 victory on Sept. 4, 1999.
It was one of the first iconic moments in the WNBA’s history.
The downside for the Liberty, however, was losing Game 3 the next day.
“I wouldn’t watch it for many, many years because we didn’t win the championship,” Weatherspoon said.
Her difficulty in speaking about that period goes beyond the playoffs. Weatherspoon played the entire season with a heavy heart. Her 19-year-old nephew, Anthony, had died in a car crash weeks before the start of the regular season. Additionally, Houston guard Kim Perrot, one of Weatherspoon’s best friends, died from complications of lung cancer on Aug. 19, two weeks before the start of the finals.
“That year was probably one of the most difficult years for me and my family during that time,” Weatherspoon said. “And when that shot went in, only my teammates knew what me and my family were thinking at that time. It was bigger than what most people think, something I never really talk about.
“It gave us another chance to play another game, which was excellent, a great opportunity to play with (an) amazing basketball team. But it also meant something to me and our family.”
The improbable bucket stunned Comets fans and players. A presumed championship celebration started prematurely, as confetti fell from the rafters. Few outside of Weatherspoon and the Liberty anticipated an immediate answer after Thompson’s basket.
“You heard a person on the side saying, ‘Stop the confetti!’ Some lady was screaming that,” Hampton said. “As we were celebrating, you could see confetti starting to fall.”
Hampton credits Weatherspoon for not only making the shot but also maintaining her composure before it. Hampton said she was down after Thompson made the go-ahead basket, as she was the player on the Liberty emphasizing solid defense, only for Thompson to make the shot over her.
“I’m hanging my head, you know, like, ‘Oh, my God, here we go again,’” Hampton said. “And Spoon is like, ‘Hurry up! Hurry! Take it out!’”
Weatherspoon said she hadn’t practiced half-court shots. She said Liberty teammate Becky Hammon — now the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces — was a frequent winner of the post-practice half-court shot contests. But the ball didn’t end up in Hammon’s hands in those final seconds.
Hampton said she intended to roll the ball to Weatherspoon but saw Thompson make a play to defend. Hampton then threw the ball to Weatherspoon, who freed herself just enough for the attempt.
“No one was on my right-hand side, so it gave me an opportunity to heave that thing,” Weatherspoon said. “When I got a chance to shoot, it just seemed like that was forever — really felt like it was forever. I knew that I just got an opportunity to heave it, and it went in for another chance to try to get at the Comets and win.”
New York Liberty teammates rushed Teresa Weatherspoon after her game-winning shot during Game 2 of the 1999 WNBA Finals against the Houston Comets. (Bill Baptist / NBAE via Getty Images)
Houston coach Van Chancellor said Weatherspoon’s shot led to yet another sleepless night. In those days, games 2 and 3 of the WNBA Finals were played on back-to-back days, so there wasn’t much time to recover. He wasn’t sure what to tell the team the next day, but the Comets remained in control of the series, as they had home-court advantage.
“I spent all that night thinking, ‘What am I going to do to bring us back the next night?’” Chancellor said. “I was just so relieved we’d won the championship. We almost let it get away from us. I was just worn out.”
Houston won Game 3 59-47, and though the Comets three-peated, both teams will never forget “The Shot.” Chancellor said Weatherspoon’s bucket still comes up in conversation. He expects to see Weatherspoon at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame festivities this fall and knows 1999 will come up.
“She’s going to say, ‘Yeah, I made the shot, but you got my ring,’” Chancellor said. “And that’s all that matters to me.”
“It gave us another day,” Hampton said. “It would be more of a moment (for us) had it led to the championship.”
Weatherspoon has plenty to be proud of surrounding her Hall of Fame career. But it doesn’t change the fact that Houston still has that Game 3 win 25 years ago that cost her a championship.
And Weatherspoon knows when she sees anyone from that team, The Shot and Game 3 will come up.
“They know I’m still salty about it,” Weatherspoon said. “I give credit where credit is due. They were a hell of a basketball team. We gave everything we frickin’ had to try to win.”
— The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg contributed to this story.
(Top photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)
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