Liberty Legend Cappie Pondexter Earns Hall of Fame Induction
New York Liberty star Cappie Pondexter has officially made a home in Knoxville after stops in Manhattan and Piscataway.
The tri-state basketball legend was one of four hardwood legends inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of fame, joining Alana Beard, Sue Bird, and Sylvia Fowles. Pondexter played five seasons in New York (2010-14) after a sterling college basketball career with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in New Jersey.
Originally entering the WNBA as the second overall pick in the 2006 draft, Pondexter began her career with the Phoenix Mercury. She won two WNBA titles in the desert and was the MVP of the latter championship series as a sophomore in 2007.
Frames from a legendary night ✨
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 15, 2025
Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Alana Beard, and Cappie Pondexter officially took their place in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame 💐 pic.twitter.com/xt0Iq3Ndm7
In the five-game win over the Detroit Shock, Pondexter averaged 22.1 points, 5.6 assists, and 1.2 steals as the Mercury came back from 2-1 down to take the series. In the following year. Pondexter partook in the United States' women's basketball team's run to the gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
She was traded to New York in 2010 and averaged 17.9 points, 4.3 assists, and 4.2 rebounds, winning fans for her local ties and gritty play. As a New Yorker, Pondexter earned two All-Star berths and All-WNBA and All-Defensive first team honors. She was dealt to the Chicago Sky in a deal that acquired fellow Rutgers alumna Epiphanny Prince in 2015 before ending her career between Los Angeles and Indiana.
Pondexter earned her induction on the same day that current Liberty star Natasha Cloud passed her for ninth place on the all-time WNBA assists list. Pondexter continues to sit near the top of several major Liberty statistical categories, ranking third in field goals (1,047), sixth in three-pointers (236), second in free throws (640), fourth in assists (722), and third in points (2,970).
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.