25 years after her passing, Kim Perrot's legacy persists in the WNBA
The former Houston Comet left a lasting impact on the league and remains a legendary story of persistence and grace in women's basketball.
“When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live.
So, live. Live. Fight like hell. And when you get too tired to fight then lay down and rest and let somebody else fight for you.” - Stuart Scott.
Those words were spoken on the stage of the ESPY awards in 2014, 15 years after Kim Perrot had passed away from lung cancer. But if anyone personified Scott’s directive to fight like hell and defeat cancer by living to the fullest, it was her.
It’s been 25 years to the day since Perrot, the former Houston Comets star and multi-time WNBA champion, succumbed to her illness. But her legacy on the league and on the sport of women’s basketball persists even today.
There were few players as prolific a scorer as Kim Perrot was in college. Back then, the University of Louisiana Lafayette was known as Southwestern Louisiana. She was a hometown kid playing for the school that existed right in her backyard. While the team never was an NCAA Tournament entrant, Perrot’s name rang through the basketball streets. She set 19 school records and finished her career as the all-time leader in scoring, assists, steals and scored 30 or more points 14 times. Her 58 points against rival Southeastern Louisiana (now UL-Monroe) is still one of the highest outputs of all time.
As a senior, she led the nation in scoring with 30 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 5.1 steals per game.
But beyond being a star player, she was a point guard and a leader.
“She was our glue,” said Comets teammate Tina Thompson in a WNBA Legends Roundtable in 2011. “She always made sure everyone was okay.”
When the WNBA came into existence in 1997, Perrot had been plying her trade in Europe for six years. At 5’5, she was one of the smaller players in the league but managed to play the role of connector on one of the greatest rosters ever assembled. Despite head coach Van Chancellor not being interested in signing her after a 200 player try out, the Comets on the roster pushed for her inclusion and she joined the team. Anchoring the back court with her best friend, Cynthia Cooper, the Comets would go on to win championships in 1997 and 1998.
“My coach is a lucky man to have me on this team!” she joked with reporters after a championship celebration. It was hard for Chancellor to disagree
But in 1999, a stunning announcement came. Perrot was diagnosed with lung cancer in February of that year. Even though she wasn’t with the team for much of the year, the Comets dedicated their season to her.
“I know it brought us closer but it changed how you really looked at the game,” Sheryl Swoopes added. “How you really appreciated what you have, how you appreciated life.”
On August 19, 1999, she was flown in a medevac to Houston with her friend, Cynthia Cooper and Kim’s family. After her passing, the scoreboards in the Compaq Center splashed the same graphic over and over: ‘No. 3 for No. 10’.
With Perrot’s spirit guiding them, the Comets completed one of the greatest dynastic runs in sports winning their third title in as many years. She was posthumously awarded a championship ring and was the first player in league history to have their number retired.
Even today, Perrot’s legacy persists within the W. The league’s sportsmanship award is named in her honor. At the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, there is a room for individuals aged 15-30 called ‘Kim’s Place’. It includes video games, a pool table, jukebox and more. When you walk into the room, it includes a legacy wall with information about Perrot and her contributions. In a small way, it creates new fans of the game while introducing them to a woman who fought like hell. As Stuart Scott would say, 15 years after her passing, Kim Perrot beat cancer by how she lived. Her desire to create a space for those fighting in the hospital to just be themselves has now served generations of people that can take inspiration from her play on the floor to her impact off of it.
She exists in eternity now but is survived by her family, teammates and legions of WNBA fans, new and old. As Tina Thompson told Andscape in 2020, “Through her, the story of the Comets and who we are is constant.”