While there have been several stars that have entered the WNBA during its 30-year lifespan, Cynthia Cooper was hands-down its first. After a stellar collegiate and international career, she entered the league at 34 and hit the ground running. Four titles, four Finals MVPs, and two regular season MVPs later, Cooper stood as an anchor for a league still growing in popularity. For a player that dominated during her time on the court, it’s been a pleasure to see what she’s been able to do off of it.

Few people have witnessed the league’s evolution from as many angles as Cooper. Before becoming the face of the Houston Comets dynasty, she spent years playing overseas and proving herself in a sport that offered far fewer opportunities for women than it does today. Since retiring, she has coached at both the collegiate and professional levels, earned induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, raised a family, and remained deeply connected to the game. Now, she’s breaking down the ins and outs of the game as an analyst on the WNBA on Prime telecast.

During our conversation, Cooper reflected on how much the WNBA has changed since its early days, what stands out most about the current generation of players, and how she’s been able to balance a busy career with motherhood. For someone who helped establish the standard for excellence in women’s basketball, Cooper remains as passionate about the game as ever.

ESSENCE: I wanted to talk to you about your transition from playing basketball to broadcasting. How has it been?

Cynthia Cooper: It’s been great. The transition from playing to broadcasting games with Amazon Prime has been amazing. The studio, oh my God, is full of incredible technology and innovative programming. The production is amazing. They make you feel super, super comfortable, especially when they switch the lead court to the Houston Comets. I was like, “Yo, I’m at home.” So it’s been great. I’ve really enjoyed the prep, getting to know every single player’s story. And Amazon does it right. I mean, they’re really spreading the WNBA and excuse me, really broadcasting the WNBA to 220 countries. I mean, can you imagine back when I played, if I had that type of a company broadcasting games to 200 plus countries is amazing.

In your role with the WNBA on Prime, what are you most excited for fans to see this season?

Really my knowledge from the perspective of the player and coach. So how I break down the X’s and O’s and how I make it, explain it so that the average fan gets it. And then our storytelling. I’m excited to tell the story of the new players in the WNBA, some of the veterans in the WNBA. What do they like? What are they into? But also what goes into getting ready for a game? What goes into getting ready for a championship and hitting that game winning shot or a free throw or making that game winning assist? Those types of things I’ve experienced. I’ve broken those things down and I think it’ll offer a unique perspective to the Amazon Prime fan. 

You were the WNBA’s first superstar in my opinion. I wanted to ask you, what stands out to you the most about how the league has grown since your playing days?

What stands out the most to me is the talent. I mean, yes, we have the new CBA and they’re getting paid a lot more money, but the level of talent in the W right now is just amazing. The interest in the W is amazing with all of the sponsors and all of the television rights and companies like Amazon Prime coming on board and really bringing the WNBA into the fold with their other sports that they have. And so I think the level of talent is just amazing. When you start looking at that class of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese and how they brought that NCAA fan base to the W and introduced that fan base to the W and how our ratings went through the roof—I think that was special.

You brought up Caitlin Clark and Angele Reese. How do you feel about today’s players and how they’re approaching their career off the court nowadays? 

I think it’s great. I think it’s a lot to balance when you’re doing a lot of other things other than just playing basketball. But I also think it’s important for the W that players show who they are off the court, and that they tell their stories and their truth. I think those things are equally important. And then once you’ve told your truth off the court, you come on the court and you are the truth. That is special. That becomes super special and it’s relatable to the everyday fan who goes to work and they’re in the corporate world and they do that, but then they go home and they’re a family person and they have kids and they have a husband or a wife. So it’s super relatable how there’s those two different areas in your life that are still you. Both of them represent who you truly are.

So, I love what the CBA has done and I love how these players tell their stories. And listen, the level of fashion in the WNBA is the absolute truth right now. So yes, shout out to wearing the four inch heels and going to the Met Gala. (Laughs.)

No, I agree with you 100% on that. But with that, how do you balance your life and career? You’ve always been pretty active, whether it be playing, coaching, and now in the booth, but you’re also a family woman, and a mother.

I think you have to be two feet in wherever you are. So when you go to work, you’re two feet in. When you go home, you’re two feet in. You’re not on the iPad or on the phone and you’re giving your attention where it needs to be and the quality of your attention where it needs to be. And I think that’s super important. So, when I’m on set, when I’m in-studio with Amazon, they get all of me. When I’m doing my prep work, they get all of me. When I’m with my son or with my daughter, then they get a hundred percent of me. And that’s really in everything I do. I don’t want to be good. I want to be great and I’m willing to put in the work it takes to be great and that’s on the court and off the court. 

How did the WNBA on Prime opportunity come to you initially?

My agent actually connected with Amina from Amazon and then we did a Zoom interview and I just told them my vision that I want to tell stories. I want to tell the why. Why was she able to make that shot? Because she puts up a thousand shots a day or because she has that mentality that it takes to be ready, and looks for that ball in the crucial moments of a game. So when I started talking to them about some of the visions I had, I think it aligned with some of the storytelling and the Hall of Fame roster that they’ve put together for the WNBA broadcast. 

When you look at the next generation of the WNBA and their talent, what is it that gives you the most optimism about where the league is headed in the future? 

I’ll go back to talent, and I will also say the knowledge of today’s players. They’re so well-rounded and balanced. They understand the importance of mental health. They understand the importance of working out and skill training. They understand the importance of family and they know how to balance it. And for me, that’s super important because like I said, I’m two feet in. So my family needs to understand that when I’m on the court, that’s where I am. When I’m off the court, then that’s where I am. I love where we are and love where we’re going.

I wanted you to expound on a previous response. When you first got into the WNBA, I believe that was 1996, did you believe the league would be what it is today?

The league was established in 96, but our first season was in 97—that summer. I think for me, I wanted to bring my A game. So I had an idea because the WNBA was attached to the NBA. I knew that there could be a high level of success here. And so I wanted to do my part as a player, but also when you’re laying that foundation, you don’t know how it’s going to be, but it’s important that you do your part. And that’s what I was focused on. I was focused on every single time someone saw me on that court, they saw my A game because I wanted to grab the fans who hadn’t seen me play or hadn’t seen women’s professional basketball. I wanted them to become fans. I thought it was important that I showcase a level of basketball that they could support—that was my mindset.

So I did think it would be successful because the NBA doesn’t allow teams to fail. And so I was super excited that the NBA was a part of it. I knew there would be some longevity, but I also knew that fans don’t support bad basketball or bad sports. Fans support great basketball and you’re starting to see that now here in the 30th season with so much talent in the W, now you’re starting to see all of this fan support and sponsors support of the W.

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