MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two-time Olympic gold-medalist and former ABL MVP Nikki McCray-Penson has died. She was 51.
McCray-Penson was an assistant women's basketball coach at Rutgers last season and the school on Friday confirmed her death. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013.
A standout star for Collierville High School in the Mid-South, McCray-Penson played with the Tennessee Lady Vols from 1991-95 under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt. The guard was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and a two-time Kodak All-America standout during her junior and senior seasons for the Lady Vols.
McCray-Penson won gold medals with the U.S. women's basketball team at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. The 1996 team sparked the formation of the WNBA and ABL. She played in the ABL and won MVP honors in 1997 before heading over to the WNBA. McCray-Penson was a three-time All-Star in that league while playing for the Washington Mystics.
She played eight seasons in the WNBA before retiring in 2006. She was an assistant coach at Western Kentucky for three seasons.
She joined Dawn Staley as an assistant coach at South Carolina from 2008-17. She was part of the Gamecocks' first national championship in 2017.
McCray-Penson then became the head coach at Old Dominion for three seasons, going 24-6 in 2020. She spent one year at Mississippi State before stepping down for health reasons and returned to coaching at Rutgers last season.
She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
The Town of Collierville issued the following statement:
"The Town is saddened to hear about the passing of Nikki McCray-Penson. Nikki was one of the greatest athletes in the Town’s history who started her basketball career at Collierville High School then became a College All-American, WNBA All-Star, and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
In 1999, the Town named a park in her honor, and in 2022, celebrated her induction into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. She was a gifted player, and later in her career, gave back to the game as a college coach. She will be missed by many and always remembered by her hometown team in Collierville, Tennessee."
