It is not easy to become an icon in the city of Houston, especially in the sports world. The fans are very strict about whom they give the title "Houston Sports Legend."

That moniker is reserved for the likes of individuals such as former Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon, who led his team to two NBA championships, and Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, who has been very instrumental in bringing two World Series titles to the fourth largest city in North America.

Yet, there is another name that falls right in line with the aforementioned athletes who earned the title as well. She is responsible for the four consecutive WNBA Championship banners inside the Toyota Center, which is home to the Houston Rockets.

She is so legendary throughout the city of Houston that people rarely call her by her full name; they just yell out, "Coop!"

But long before former Houston Comets player Cynthia Cooper-Dyke was winning WNBA championships and multiple Finals MVPs, she was perfecting her skills at the University of Southern California in rigorous practices against players such as 1995 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Cheryl Miller and Pam and Paula McGee.

"I didn’t start at USC; I came off the bench, so I had to practice against Cheryl Miller every single day," said Cooper-Dyke via Zoom. "Those practices were tough. To try to get to the rim against Cheryl and the McGee twins, I had to step my game up a little bit."

Her contributions would help USC win two NCAA championships. Those playing days, along with helping lead Locke High School in Los Angeles to their first and only state championship, were recognized by the Southern California Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 as they enshrined Cooper-Dyke into their inaugural 2020 class of inductees.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, individuals were unable to attend in person, so the ceremony was postponed. This month, the inductees were finally able to have an official induction ceremony, at which Cooper-Dyke was in attendance.

"I am incredibly honored," she said about being recognized for her accomplishments on and off the court. "There is a lot of talent that comes out of California. That puts me in good company. I grew up in Los Angeles, and to have success with the amount of talent that comes out of that city and really state, I feel very fortunate. To be recognized for my accomplishments by the Southern California Basketball Hall of Fame is just an amazing honor."

After spending a decade playing professional basketball overseas, Cooper-Dyke finally got to showcase her talent with the Houston Comets in the newly formed WNBA in 1997. This challenge would be more difficult for her than the practices at USC against Miller since she was turning 34 in her rookie season, and her teammate Sheryl Swoopes would miss a significant amount of time due to her pregnancy.

If you have been around "Coop" for any amount of time, you know that obstacles never deter her from getting the job done, as she did by being named league MVP while leading the Comets to the inaugural WNBA Championship and winning Finals MVP. Three more titles in three consecutive years would help set the foundation for the WNBA and solidify her place amongst basketball royalty, as she became the first WNBA player to be enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

"I knew when I started playing in the WNBA, the work I put in, the effort we put in, the games we won, the championships we won, would help lay the foundation for a stronger WNBA," Cooper-Dyke responded when asked about her time in the league. "Hopefully, I left a legacy of hard work, winning championships, not settling, but continuing to grow and get better every single year. I love the state of the WNBA now because you see talent all over the place."

After her playing career, Cooper-Dyke became a head coach and helped rebuild the women’s basketball programs at Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern, two historically black colleges in the state of Texas.

Giving back to the sport she loves so much did not stop after her coaching days ended. Cooper-Dyke will be reunited with her former teammate Sheryl Swoopes when they host the "Legends Tournament" in June for girls between the ages of 9 and 17, followed by a basketball camp in the city of Houston.