{"id":2505,"date":"2023-08-21T00:48:55","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T00:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/?p=2505"},"modified":"2023-10-12T18:05:45","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T18:05:45","slug":"mystics-induct-nikki-mccray-penson-into-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/21\/mystics-induct-nikki-mccray-penson-into-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystics Induct Nikki McCray-Penson Into Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When Nikki McCray-Penson lost her battle with breast cancer in July, the news of her death shook the WNBA community. Shortly after her passing, the Washington Mystics revealed a video that showed General Manager Mike Thibault calling Penson to share that the team planned on inducting her in their Hall of Fame.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Penson did not make it to participate in the ceremony, it was quite serendipitous that the neither party was aware of what was about to take place in the coming months. Ultimately, her life was celebrated at Sunday\u2019s Mystics game against the Dallas Wings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/CaritaCParks\/status\/1677459264170754048?s=20\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>During the induction ceremony at halftime, attendees heard remarks from Mystics legends\u00a0Chamique Holdsclaw\u00a0and\u00a0Murriel Page. The team also played a tribute video narrated by\u00a0Dawn Staley.\u00a0The ceremony wrapped up with a jersey presentation to the\u00a0Penson\u00a0family and the banner unveil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">An emotional Chamique Holdsclaw shares words about the late Nikki McCray-Penson during the Mystics Hall of Fame ceremony. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WNBA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VEMsUaUCxR\">pic.twitter.com\/VEMsUaUCxR<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Double Take Sports (@dbltakesports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dbltakesports\/status\/1693354084466598380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Nikki McCray-Penson\u2019s son with the countdown to reveal the banner that includes her name as the latest member of the Mystics Hall of Fame. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dbltakesports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@dbltakesports<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WNBA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OurTimeOurLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#OurTimeOurLegacy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WNHkDcmidU\">pic.twitter.com\/WNHkDcmidU<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CaritaCParks\/status\/1693356856398197063?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur Hall of Fame celebration for Nikki was an event that she was so excited about and looking forward to,\u201d Mike Thibault said. \u201cWe all wish so much that she could be here with us to celebrate. I\u2019m glad that her family and friends will be here to see her honored for her Mystics legacy and be remembered for the wonderful person and player that she was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over her nine-year career in the WNBA, McCray-Penson&nbsp;played four seasons with the Mystics (1998-2001) and helped lead the team to its first playoff appearance in 2000. She was a three-time WNBA All-Star (1999, 2000, 2001) with all three appearances as a member of the Mystics. McCray was also a two-time Olympic gold medalist as a member of the 1996 and 2000 USA Basketball teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McCray-Penson&nbsp;finished her career with the Mystics averaging 15.4 points per game, 2.3 rebounds per game, 2.4 assists per game and 1.2 steals per game. She scored 1921 total points with the Mystics, which currently sits eighth all-time in team history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The halftime celebration also included the dedication of a $100,000 scholarship fund in Nikki McCray\u2019s name, donated by Monumental Sports &amp; Entertainment Chairman &amp; CEO,&nbsp;Ted Leonsis. The fund will be administered through the D.C. College Access Program (DC-CAP) and used to support two African American female students each year over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McCray-Penson, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/08\/sports\/basketball\/nikki-mccray-penson-dead.html\">who passed away on July 7, 2023<\/a>, after battling breast cancer, will join Vicky Bullett, Holdsclaw and Page as members of the Mystics Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It\u2019s OFFICIAL! Nikki McCray-Penson is the newest addition to the Mystics Hall of Fame.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OurTimeOueLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#OurTimeOueLegacy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WNBA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kssAS4Gdtg\">pic.twitter.com\/kssAS4Gdtg<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Double Take Sports (@dbltakesports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dbltakesports\/status\/1693358007315296614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Several Mystics alum were in attendance including\u00a0Vicky Bullett (2000-02),\u00a0Penny Moore (1998-99), Rita Williams (1998-99), Markita Aldridge (1999-01)\u00a0and\u00a0Tausha Mills (2000-02). Other special guests included former Mystics and Wizards Executive Judy Holland and former Mystics Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Krissy Kahler (98-02).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All <a href=\"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/20\/natasha-cloud-says-mystics-fans-are-best-in-the-w\/\">fans in attendance<\/a> received a t-shirt featuring McCray\u2019s name and number. In celebration of her legacy,\u00a0the number 15 decal was featured on the Mystics court and on player jerseys.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Washington Mystics are formally inducting Nikki McCray-Penson into the team\u2019s Hall of Fame at today\u2019s game. All fans in attendance are receiving a special Nikki McCray t-shirt which are draped over each seat in the arena. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OurTimeOurLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#OurTimeOurLegacy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WNBA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bxUz2gvgY9\">pic.twitter.com\/bxUz2gvgY9<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Double Take Sports (@dbltakesports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dbltakesports\/status\/1693324956556574865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Mystics inducted Nikki McCray-Penson, who passed away on July 7th, into the team&#8217;s Hall of Fame during a halftime ceremony at Sunday&#8217;s game versus Dallas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mystics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/McCray-HOF.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2505"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2510,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2505\/revisions\/2510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}