Nancy Lieberman Suits Up for the WNBA at Age 50
Nancy Lieberman by Steve Foxall/ESPN
Nancy Lieberman will not be calling
Thursday night's WNBA game between the Detroit Shock and the Houston Comets. Instead, the 50-year-old Basketball Hall of Famer will be
playing for the Shock. The team has signed Lieberman to a seven-day contract (and her ESPN job will be waiting for her should the contract not be extended). "It is an amazing opportunity to continue to play the game I love," Lieberman
told espn.com Lieberman previously played for the Phoenix Mercury at age 38 in 1997, the WNBA's inaugural season. From 1998 to 2000 she was the general manager and head coach for the Detroit Shock. She has covered women's baksetball for ESPN for many years and is widely regarded as one of the most astute analysts of the game. Back in the day Lieberman was a collegiate star at Old Dominion University, won a silver medal as part of the U.S. Olympic team in 1976.
Doris Burke will replace Lieberman on Thursday's game, alongside Pam Ward (July 24, 9:30 pm/ET, ESPN2). The Shock, and the league, can use the good news following Tuesday's
bench-clearing brawl between Detroit and the Los Angeles Sparks.
