Sparks great Tamecka Dixon was with the team from the beginning. She began her professional career with the Sparks in the WNBA’s inaugural season after Los Angeles drafted her 14th overall in the 1997 WNBA College Draft. She would go on to play nine seasons in Los Angeles, finishing her Sparks career in 2005.
In that time, she helped the Sparks win back-to-back WNBA titles in 2001 and 2002, appeared in three consecutive WNBA All-Star Games from 2001-2003, and was named to the All-WNBA Second Team in 2001. Dixon also won the 2002 FIBA World Cup championship as a member of the U.S. National Team. Throughout Dixon’s time with the Sparks, she played alongside WNBA legend Lisa Leslie.
The Linden, New Jersey, native also played for the now defunct Houston Comets from 2006-2008 and for the Indiana Fever in 2009. She averaged 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game during her 13-year WNBA career.
The 5-9 shooting guard played her collegiate career for the University of Kansas from 1993-1997, guiding her team to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of her four years with the program. In her senior season, she averaged 20.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. She was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and a Second Team AP All-American.
In her KU career, she averaged 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. In 2003, the Jayhawks retired Dixon’s jersey number and hung her jersey from the rafters. In 2020, Linden High School, Dixon’s alma mater, retired her jersey number as well. Dixon was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
As a fixture in the Sparks starting lineup, Dixon was a strong contributor on the scoreboard, averaging over 10 points per game in six of her nine seasons in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, she was an efficient free throw shooter during her time in the WNBA, finishing with a career 80.9% from the line. At the time of her retirement in 2009, Dixon was one of just four active players who began their careers during the league’s inaugural season.
Her best seasons in the W came in 1998, when she averaged 16.2 points per game, and 2003, when she put up 13.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3 assists per game.
After retiring from professional basketball, Dixon began a successful career in the insurance industry, working for Edward Jones and American Income Life before founding her own insurance agency, Avis Budget Group, in 2013, which she continues to operate.