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Cappie Pondexter announces her retirement

By Kim Doss

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 20: Cappie Pondexter #25 of the Indiana Fever looks on during a time out against the Los Angeles Sparks during a WNBA basketball game at Staples Center on July 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 20: Cappie Pondexter #25 of the Indiana Fever looks on during a time out against the Los Angeles Sparks during a WNBA basketball game at Staples Center on July 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images) /
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A legend moves on.

The highlights of her career were a full scholarship, two WNBA Championships, seven WNBA All-Star appearances, and an Olympic gold medal, according to Cappie Pondexter. But it’s time to move on, she said today as she announced her retirement via Instagram.

Pondexter played for the LA Sparks and the Indiana Fever last season, but the highlights of her career came with the Phoenix Mercury. Taken No. 2 in the 2006 WNBA draft, Pondexter immediately made an impact for the Mercury and was named a member of the All-Rookie Team and the All-Star Team. That year, she became just the third rookie in league history to score at least 600 points and trailed only Seimone Augustus for scoring by a rookie.

She and Diana Taurasi became a formidable duo right from the start. The pair was the first teammates in league history to score 30-plus points in the same game, a feat they accomplished on June 6, 2006, against the defending champion Sacramento Monarchs.

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That was the team’s first win of the 2006 season. There would be many more to come with Taurasi and Pondexter on the court together.

The next season, the pair took the Mercury to the apex by winning the first WNBA title in franchise history. Pondexter was a standout, earning the nod as the 2007 Finals MVP to go along with her second All-Star selection. Her scoring took a little dip that season, but her ability to set up her teammates took a step forward.

Two years later, Pondexter would get her second title with the Mercury. It would be the last go-round with the team that drafted her out of Rutgers.

She was traded to the New York Liberty before the 2010 season. She went on to set more records on the other side of the country. Pondexter would be in three more All-Star Games as a member of the Liberty. She would also become the franchise leader in scoring average (19.2 ppg) and second in total points (2,522).

Her last trips to the playoffs were with the Chicago Sky, where she helped her team to the postseason twice. She wrapped up her career with the LA Sparks and Indiana Fever, where she split her time last season.

Pondexter ends her WNBA career with the fourth-highest scoring average (19.2 ppg) and the most games with 30 or more points (20) in league history.

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