Betty Lennox

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Betty Lennox bigraphy, stories - American basketball player

Betty Lennox : biography

December 4, 1976 –

Betty Bernice Lennox (born December 4, 1976 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is an American professional basketball player most recently playing for the Tulsa Shock in the WNBA. Her nicknames include "Betty Basketball," "Betty Big Buckets," and her most popular nickname "B-Money."

WNBA career

Lennox was selected by the Minnesota Lynx as the sixth overall pick in the 2000 WNBA Draft and later became the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2000. She was also the first Rookie to ever play in the 2000 WNBA All-Star Game that same year. She also made the All-WNBA 2nd Team in 2000 as well. She broke her hip in 2001, and was originally told that her basketball career would be over after the injury. With the work ethic she learned as a child, she fought back from her injury to come back and continues to thrive as a player.

On June 13, 2002, the Minnesota Lynx traded Lennox along with a 2003 first-round draft pick to the Miami Sol in exchange for Tamara Moore and a 2003 second-round draft pick. After the 2002 season ended, the Miami Sol folded, and Lennox was selected by the Cleveland Rockers in the 2003 WNBA Dispersal draft. When the Rockers folded after the 2003 season ended, Lennox went through another Dispersal Draft before the 2004 season. This time, she was selected by the Seattle Storm. The Seattle Storm would reach the WNBA quarterfinals with Lennox for both the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

Lennox led the Seattle Storm to the 2004 WNBA Championship against the Connecticut Sun. She was named the Finals Most Valuable Player, and averaged 22.3 points during the Storm’s championship run en route to winning the award. In 2005 with the Seattle Storm she hit her 200th career three-pointer.

On February 6, 2008, Lennox was selected by the Atlanta Dream in the expansion draft. She would play the entire season for the Atlanta Dream, averaging 17.5 points per game. She was the Eastern Conference leading point scorer for the 2008 season. She reached the 3,000 point and 1,000 rebound milestones in the 2008 season as well.

She was acquired by the Los Angeles Sparks for the 2009 season as an unrestricted free agent, where she helped lead them to the Western Conference finals in her tenth season with the WNBA. During the 2010 season a left knee injury would sideline her while playing with the Sparks for the remainder of the season after playing only 11 games.

Betty was signed by the Tulsa Shock for the 2011 season, then cut by them, later re-signed for the remainder of the 2011 season. She would be sidelined for the later part of the of the season with a concussion.

Betty has played a total of 12 seasons with the WNBA to date.

College years

Lennox played college basketball at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas for her sophomore year. Trinity Valley was actually her second community college, as she originally enrolled at Butler Community College. She would transfer to Trinity Valley CC after her freshman year in 1996. Her Cardinals Trinity Valley CC team won the 1997 NJCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, an accomplishment she is most proud of. She was the MVP of the tournament, and finished the championship game with 27 points and 20 rebounds. Lennox then transferred to Louisiana Tech University, and graduated from there in 2000 with a BA in Psychology. She actually took a year off from basketball while at LA Tech in 1998 to devote herself to her studies in order to complete her degree. She would play basketball for LA Tech for her final two years of college in 1999 & 2000. She was named the 2000 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and a U.S. Basketball Writers Association First Team All-American while at Louisiana Tech University.

Personal life

Lennox started the Lennox Foundation 22 in 2005 to support children that were victims of neglect and abuse. The organization’s mission is to give these children better experiences and the chance to succeed with support, education, and love. They learn self-motivation through playing basketball. She was presented with the WNBA’s Community Assist Award in June 2006 for her charitable work.