Kim Perrot (January 18, 1967 – August 19, 1999) was an American basketball player. She played in the WNBA for the Houston Comets and won three championships, the 3rd one being a posthumous honor by the Comets after her passing.

College

Perrot attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) and played four years there as a guard. In one game against the University of Southeastern Louisiana, she scored 58 points, the third most in NCAA history.

Southwestern Louisiana statistics

Source^[1]

WNBA

After playing six seasons in Europe, Perrot joined the WNBA in the summer of 1997 for its inaugural season. Perrot played point guard for the Houston Comets and her debut game was played on June 21, 1997. On that day, the Comets defeated the Cleveland Rockers 76 - 56 with Perrot recording 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.^[2]

At 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m), she was noted there for her ferocious play and was a crowd favorite.^[3] Her best friend was Comets star Cynthia Cooper.

Perrot was the starting point guard for the Comets for 24 of the team's 28 games (for the other 4 games, teammate Tiffany Woosley would start in Perrot's place) and would go on to average 5.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the season. The Comets finished with an 18 - 10 record and made it to the WNBA Finals where they defeated the New York Liberty to win the WNBA's first championship in league history.

Perrot would remain the Comets starting point guard for the 1998 season and started in all 30 of the team's regular season games. Perrot played more minutes in her sophomore season and had increased productivity across the board, averaging 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game. The Comets finished with an incredible 27 - 3 record and once again won the WNBA championship by defeating the Phoenix Mercury in a best-of-3 series.

After the 1998 season, Perrot would not play in the WNBA again as she was diagnosed with lung cancer in February 1999.^[3] While she was not on the basketball court with the Comets that year, many of her teammates considered her to be a spiritual uplifting force for the team.^{[citation needed]}

Perrot wore jersey number 10 with the Comets organization and averaged 7.2 points, 3.3 steals, and 2.9 rebounds per game during her two seasons with the team.^[4]

Her final game ever was Game 3 of the 1998 WNBA Finals on September 1, 1998, where she recorded 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists to help Houston defeat Phoenix 80 - 71.^[5]

Death and Legacy

Perrot succumbed to her illness on August 19, 1999. The cancer had metastasized to Perrot's brain. She underwent surgery and radiation treatments to eradicate the tumors in her head, but declined chemotherapy recommended by her doctors. Perrot went to Mexico to seek alternative methods to battle cancer. Many attribute her death to that move—but metastasized lung cancer gave her no chance of survival with conventional medicine. In Mexico, she was joined by Cooper. Two days before her death, she took a Medevac flight back to Houston from Tijuana, with Cooper and members of the Perrot family flying along. She was the first active player in the WNBA to die.

After her death, the Comets went on to win a third straight WNBA title in 1999, and a tearful Cooper celebrated what the team called "#3 for #10". She was posthumously awarded a third championship ring and her #10 jersey was retired, thus making her the first player in league history to have her number retired. The WNBA subsequently renamed their sportsmanship award the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award in her honor.

Comets fans raised money to create "Kim's Place", an area at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston where kids with cancer can play games, sports, and relax. Also, the "Kim Perrot Leadership Award" was created by the Houston Can! Academy (a charter school for at risk youth).^[6] While ill with cancer, Perrot had made many public appearances and given motivational speeches, mostly at schools.

Perrot is buried at the Our Lady of the Assumption Cemetery in Carencro, Louisiana.

Career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs