Secret weapon

Thompson quietly opens floor up for U.S. women in Athens

Tina Thompson added a team-high five assists to her 20 points in Team USA's 102-72 win over Greece Wednesday. Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Tina Thompson was talking with a reporter after the U.S. women's basketball team's 102-72 win over Greece on Wednesday when teammate Diana Taurasi strolled past her and gave her an affectionate pat on the head. "There she is!" shouted Taurasi. "The sleeper!"

It's not a term one usually applies to a battle-tested professional, an eight-year veteran who has been instrumental in four WNBA titles. But Thompson, 29, is an unusual case. A five-time WNBA all-star, she has long been overshadowed by higher profile players, even on her own team. When the Houston Comets won the WNBA's first four titles, Thompson was the third of the so-called Big Three, her accomplishments eclipsed by those of her teammates, Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper. So far, nothing's different on her first tour with the U.S. Olympic team. Three-time Olympians Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Dawn Staley are getting most of the ink. Even fellow Olympic rookie Taurasi, a mere pup at 22, has a bigger name. But Thompson is far more valuable than the height of her clip stack suggests.

After six games, she is Team USA's second-leading scorer behind Leslie, averaging 16.2 points-per-game. In Wednesday's quarterfinal against Greece, Thompson hit 8-of-13 shots for 20 points, and added six rebounds and five assists. After going 0-for-7 from behind the arc in five previous games, she connected on two-of-three 3-pointers against Greece, a statistic that may force the USA's next opponent, Russia, to alter its defensive plans. "You can't measure the value of a power forward who can score on the block and score from 25 feet," says U.S. head coach Van Chancellor.

"Tina's value is huge," says assistant coach Anne Donovan. "As long as I've coached USA Basketball, I don't think we've had a four who drills the 3 as consistently as Tina does. Because she can do damage from the outside, she opens everything up for us offensively. Lisa really benefits from that. And she'll benefit even more in the next few games."

Thompson developed her outside shot before she developed any other part of her game. With no girls leagues available when she was a kid growing up in Southern California, she played with boys at the Robertson Recreation Center near Culver City. "The guys were so much bigger, I had a hard time getting my shot off inside," she says. "I was forced to play outside. It wasn't until I started playing organized basketball and was one of the taller girls that I played inside."

Since joining the WNBA as the No. 1 pick out of USC in the league's inaugural draft, in 1997, Thompson has quietly added an effective low-post game. After she was selected for the Olympic team, she made a commitment to work out with Team USA every day for a few months starting in February. "She knew her experience was minimal, but she just plugged away and quietly went about her business," says Donovan. "By the end of the training in April, there was no doubt she was the best, most consistent player that had played with us. She's quietly gone about her business and earned everybody's confidence."

And that's more important to Thompson than drawing media attention, she says. "When I'm in Houston or even on the road, I feel the appreciation from the fans for the work I do day in and day out," she says. After Saturday's gold medal game -- expect the U.S. to beat Australia -- she should feel more of the same in Athens.