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Kim Perrot

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Kim Perrot
Personal information
Born(1967-01-18)January 18, 1967
Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedAugust 19, 1999(1999-08-19) (aged 32)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Listed weight132 lb (60 kg)
Career information
High schoolAcadiana (Scott, Louisiana)
CollegeLouisiana (1986–1990)
WNBA draft1997: undrafted
Playing career1997–1999
PositionPoint guard
Number10
Career history
1997–1999Houston Comets
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference

Kim Perrot (January 18, 1967 – August 19, 1999) was an American basketball player. She played in the WNBA for the Houston Comets and won three championships, the third being a posthumous honor by the Comets.

College

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Perrot attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) and played four years there as a guard. In one game against the University of Southeastern Louisiana, she scored 58 points, the third most in NCAA history.

Southwestern Louisiana statistics

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Source[1]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage
 FT%  Free throw percentage  RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high  *  Led Division I
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1987 Southwestern Louisiana 27 354 36.9% NA 55.1% 4.0 7.1 NA NA 13.1
1988 Southwestern Louisiana 29 501 38.6% 32.3% 47.5% 4.7 5.4 3.0 0.0 17.3
1989 Southwestern Louisiana 26 448 41.9% 37.3% 62.0% 5.7 6.0 4.1 0.3 17.2
1990 Southwestern Louisiana 28 839 42.2% 36.0% 66.7% 5.8 5.6 5.1 0.0 *30.0
Career 110 2142 40.3% 34.9% 59.4% 5.0 6.0 3.1 0.1 19.5

WNBA

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After playing six seasons in Europe, Perrot joined the WNBA in the summer of 1997 for its inaugural season. Perrot played point guard for the Houston Comets and her debut game was played on June 21, 1997. On that day, the Comets defeated the Cleveland Rockers 76 - 56 with Perrot recording 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.[2]

At 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m), she was noted there for her ferocious play and was a crowd favorite.[3] Her best friend was Comets star Cynthia Cooper.

Perrot was the starting point guard for the Comets for 24 of the team's 28 games (for the other 4 games, teammate Tiffany Woosley would start in Perrot's place) and would go on to average 5.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the season. The Comets finished with an 18 - 10 record and made it to the WNBA Finals where they defeated the New York Liberty to win the WNBA's first championship in league history.

Perrot would remain the Comets' starting point guard for the 1998 season and started in all 30 of the team's regular season games. Perrot played more minutes in her sophomore season and had increased productivity across the board, averaging 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game. The Comets finished with an incredible 27 - 3 record and once again won the WNBA championship by defeating the Phoenix Mercury in a best-of-3 series.

After the 1998 season, Perrot would not play in the WNBA again as she was diagnosed with lung cancer in February 1999.[3] While she was not on the basketball court with the Comets that year, many of her teammates considered her to be a spiritual uplifting force for the team.[citation needed]

Perrot wore jersey number 10 with the Comets organization and averaged 7.2 points, 3.3 steals, and 2.9 rebounds per game during her two seasons with the team.[4]

Her final game ever was Game 3 of the 1998 WNBA Finals on September 1, 1998, where she recorded 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists to help Houston defeat Phoenix 80 - 71.[5]

Death and legacy

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Perrot succumbed to her illness on August 19, 1999. The cancer had metastasized to Perrot's brain. She underwent surgery and radiation treatments to eradicate the tumors in her head, but declined chemotherapy recommended by her doctors. Perrot went to Mexico to seek alternative methods to battle cancer. Many attribute her death to that move—but metastasized lung cancer gave her no chance of survival with conventional medicine. In Mexico, she was joined by Cooper. Two days before her death, she took a Medevac flight back to Houston from Tijuana, with Cooper and members of the Perrot family flying along. She was the first active player in the WNBA to die.

After her death, the Comets went on to win a third straight WNBA title in 1999, and a tearful Cooper celebrated what the team called "#3 for #10". She was posthumously awarded a third championship ring and her #10 jersey was retired, thus making her the first player in league history to have her number retired. The WNBA subsequently renamed their sportsmanship award the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award in her honor.

Comets fans raised money to create "Kim's Place", an area at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston where kids with cancer can play games, sports, and relax. Also, the "Kim Perrot Leadership Award" was created by the Houston Can! Academy (a charter school for at risk youth).[6] While ill with cancer, Perrot had made many public appearances and given motivational speeches, mostly at schools.

Perrot is buried at the Our Lady of the Assumption Cemetery in Carencro, Louisiana.

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1997† Houston 28 24 24.7 .364 .283 .405 2.7 3.1 2.5 0.1 2.3 5.8
1998† Houston 30 30 32.9 .404 .269 .700 3.1 4.7 2.8 0.0 2.7 8.5
Career 2 years, 1 team 58 54 28.9 .387 .275 .598 2.9 4.0 2.6 0.0 2.5 7.2

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1997† Houston 2 2 38.0 .227 .214 .750 4.5 2.0 3.0 0.0 4.5 8.0
1998† Houston 5 5 36.4 .375 .375 .417 3.2 5.0 1.6 0.0 3.4 8.2
Career 2 years, 1 team 7 7 36.9 .323 .300 .500 3.6 4.1 2.0 0.0 3.7 8.1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Women's Basketball Finest" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  2. ^ "Houston Comets at Cleveland Rockers, June 21, 1997".
  3. ^ a b "WNBA's Kim Perrot dies at 32" Archived September 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, by Terri Langford, Salon, August 19, 1999
  4. ^ "Kim Perrot", Basketball-reference.com
  5. ^ "Phoenix Mercury at Houston Comets, September 1, 1998".
  6. ^ "Names In The News", Sports Business Daily, October 25, 2002
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