Sonja Henning
Encyclopedia
Sonja L. Henning (born October 4, 1969 in Jackson, Tennessee
) is an attorney
and former collegiate and professional basketball
player. She grew up in Racine, Wisconsin
, where she attended Horlick High School
.
and played for its women's basketball team from 1987 to 1991. She helped the Cardinal
win the 1990 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
game, defeating Auburn University
. The following year, Henning was named Pac-10 Player of the Year and a Kodak All-America
n in her senior season.
During the summer of 1990, she was a member of the 1990 U.S. National Team that won the World Games and Goodwill Games
.
An economics
major, Henning graduated from Stanford in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree.
After graduation, there were few opportunities for women to play professional basketball in the United States
at the time, so Henning started her professional career playing in a women's professional basketball team in Uppsala, Sweden in 1992.
in 1995.
Shortly after graduating from Duke, Henning starting working as an attorney specializing in labor
and employment law for the Littler Mendelson
law firm in Los Angeles, California
.
, a team which also featured former Stanford players Jennifer Azzi
, Anita Kaplan, and Val Whiting.
She played for the Lasers for two seasons, then joined the Portland Power
until financial difficulties led to the ABL's demise in 1998.
Henning joined the Women's National Basketball Association
(WNBA) after being selected in the second round (24th overall pick) by the Houston Comets
during its 1999 WNBA Draft
and helped the Comets to its third straight WNBA championship
season. During that same year, she also served as the president of the WNBA Players Union.
In 2000, the WNBA held an expansion draft
for current players to join newly-formed teams. Henning was selected by the Seattle Storm
and played with the team from 2000 to part of the 2002 season until she was traded back to the Comets.
After the 2002 season ended, she became a free agent
, and signed a contract with the Washington Mystics
on May 5, 2003, but was waived by the team three weeks later. In June 2003, Henning signed a contract with the Indiana Fever
and played for them during that season.
Henning served as president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association from 2001 to 2003.
She retired from the WNBA in 2004.
company that sells women's sporting apparel, Henning joined the law firm Tonkon Torp LLP, located in Portland, Oregon
. She is currently an attorney specializing in labor and employment litigation matters.
Sonja left Tonkon Torp and took a position with Nike in Beaverton in a marketing role.
A civic activist, Henning currently serves on the board of directors for the Urban League of Portland.
In May 2005, Henning was elected to a seat on the Portland School Board
in a landslide victory with over 70 percent of the vote.
WNBA Career Averages
WNBA Career Playoff Totals
WNBA Career Playoff Averages
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
) is an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and former collegiate and professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. She grew up in Racine, Wisconsin
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
, where she attended Horlick High School
William Horlick High School
William Horlick High School is a comprehensive public four-year high school in Racine, Wisconsin with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students. The school opened to students in 1928, after William Horlick, the original patent holder for malted milk, donated the land the school was built on...
.
Stanford University
She attended Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and played for its women's basketball team from 1987 to 1991. She helped the Cardinal
Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.-Nickname and mascot history:Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams...
win the 1990 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each April, the Women's Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season...
game, defeating Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
. The following year, Henning was named Pac-10 Player of the Year and a Kodak All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n in her senior season.
During the summer of 1990, she was a member of the 1990 U.S. National Team that won the World Games and Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
.
An economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
major, Henning graduated from Stanford in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree.
After graduation, there were few opportunities for women to play professional basketball in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the time, so Henning started her professional career playing in a women's professional basketball team in Uppsala, Sweden in 1992.
Duke University
After playing one season in Sweden, she enrolled in Duke University Law School in 1993 where she obtained a Juris DoctorJuris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1995.
Shortly after graduating from Duke, Henning starting working as an attorney specializing in labor
Labour law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
and employment law for the Littler Mendelson
Littler Mendelson
Littler Mendelson P.C. is a San Francisco-based law firm. The firm has 52 offices and over 800 lawyers practicing exclusively in the representation of employers in labor and employment law, and has the largest practice in this area in the United States and Venezuela.-History and practice:The firm...
law firm in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Resuming professional basketball
In 1996, the American Basketball League (ABL) was formed, and Henning tried out for a playing spot on a team in the new league. Henning was eventually drafted by the San Jose LasersSan Jose Lasers
The San Jose Lasers were a women's professional basketball team in San Jose, California. It was a member of the American Basketball League.The team folded along with the rest of the league during the third ABL season in 1998....
, a team which also featured former Stanford players Jennifer Azzi
Jennifer Azzi
Jennifer Lynn Azzi is the head coach of the women's basketball team at the University of San Francisco. Azzi is a former collegiate and professional basketball player.-College years:...
, Anita Kaplan, and Val Whiting.
She played for the Lasers for two seasons, then joined the Portland Power
Portland Power (basketball)
The Portland Power was a women's professional basketball team in the American Basketball League based in Portland, Oregon. The Power began play in 1996, and disbanded when the ABL folded at the end of 1998.-1996-97 season:...
until financial difficulties led to the ABL's demise in 1998.
Henning joined the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
(WNBA) after being selected in the second round (24th overall pick) by the Houston Comets
Houston Comets
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...
during its 1999 WNBA Draft
WNBA Draft
The WNBA Draft is an annual draft held by the WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. The first WNBA draft was held in 1997...
and helped the Comets to its third straight WNBA championship
WNBA Finals
The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002....
season. During that same year, she also served as the president of the WNBA Players Union.
In 2000, the WNBA held an expansion draft
Expansion draft
An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansion draft...
for current players to join newly-formed teams. Henning was selected by the Seattle Storm
Seattle Storm
The Seattle Storm is a professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...
and played with the team from 2000 to part of the 2002 season until she was traded back to the Comets.
After the 2002 season ended, she became a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
, and signed a contract with the Washington Mystics
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...
on May 5, 2003, but was waived by the team three weeks later. In June 2003, Henning signed a contract with the Indiana Fever
Indiana Fever
The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...
and played for them during that season.
Henning served as president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association from 2001 to 2003.
She retired from the WNBA in 2004.
Life after basketball
After serving two years as general counsel for Lucy.com, a startup InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
company that sells women's sporting apparel, Henning joined the law firm Tonkon Torp LLP, located in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. She is currently an attorney specializing in labor and employment litigation matters.
Sonja left Tonkon Torp and took a position with Nike in Beaverton in a marketing role.
A civic activist, Henning currently serves on the board of directors for the Urban League of Portland.
In May 2005, Henning was elected to a seat on the Portland School Board
Portland Public Schools, Oregon
Portland Public Schools is a public school district located in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is the largest school district in the state of Oregon, and in the Pacific Northwest. It is a Pre K-12 district with an enrollment of approximately 47,000 students...
in a landslide victory with over 70 percent of the vote.
Career statistics
WNBA Career Totals| Year | Team | G | GS | MIN | FGM | FGA | FTM | FTA | 3PTM | 3PTA | REB | AST | STL | TO | BLK | PTS |
| 1999 | HOU | 32 | 32 | 798 | 52 | 117 | 11 | 18 | 13 | 41 | 80 | 74 | 34 | 29 | 7 | 128 |
| 2000 | SEA | 32 | 32 | 980 | 53 | 151 | 37 | 61 | 25 | 66 | 86 | 79 | 61 | 54 | 3 | 168 |
| 2001 | SEA | 32 | 28 | 902 | 41 | 129 | 18 | 35 | 8 | 44 | 71 | 93 | 52 | 43 | 6 | 108 |
| 2002 | SEA | 8 | 5 | 207 | 8 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 18 |
| HOU | 23 | 10 | 521 | 18 | 52 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 58 | 51 | 23 | 36 | 6 | 44 | |
| 2003 | WSH | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| IND | 23 | 1 | 290 | 11 | 42 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 25 | 29 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 24 | |
| Totals | 151 | 108 | 3,703 | 183 | 514 | 75 | 137 | 49 | 176 | 346 | 341 | 194 | 182 | 23 | 490 |
WNBA Career Averages
| Year | Team | MIN | FG% | FT% | 3PT% | REB | AST | STL | TO | BLK | PTS |
| 1999 | HOU | 24.9 | .444 | .611 | .317 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 4.0 |
| 2000 | SEA | 30.6 | .351 | .607 | .379 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 5.3 |
| 2001 | SEA | 28.2 | .318 | .514 | .182 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| 2002 | SEA | 25.9 | .364 | .500 | .000 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.3 |
| HOU | 22.7 | .346 | .455 | .250 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 1.9 | |
| 2003 | WSH | 5.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| IND | 12.6 | .262 | .250 | .000 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 | |
| Totals | 24.5 | .356 | .547 | .278 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 3.2 |
WNBA Career Playoff Totals
| Year | Team | G | GS | MIN | FGM | FGA | FTM | FTA | 3PTM | 3PTA | REB | AST | STL | TO | BLK | PTS |
| 1999 | HOU | 6 | 6 | 136 | 8 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 19 |
| 2002 | HOU | 3 | 3 | 48 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 9 | 9 | 184 | 8 | 32 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 22 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 19 |
WNBA Career Playoff Averages
| Year | Team | MIN | FG% | FT% | 3PT% | REB | AST | STL | TO | BLK | PTS |
| 1999 | HOU | 22.7 | .348 | .333 | .111 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 3.2 |
| 2002 | HOU | 16.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Totals | 20.4 | .250 | .333 | .091 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 2.1 |