Once, in a rough Fort Lauderdale neighborhood, a man pulled a gun on her. The police were called, and she went on with her job. She was never scared, not with her kind of tenacity. It was a matter of survival for Griffith, the youngest of five children from the south side of Chicago. She has come to appreciate every accomplishment in her life, including her first appearance as an Olympian as a member of the U.S. women's basketball team.
Basketball is easy.
Life is what's difficult. All-Star forward, has accomplished what no other player has in WNBA history. She has won Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, finishing ahead of Cynthia Cooper, Teresa Weatherspoon and Chamique Holdsclaw for the honors, and was named to the All-WNBA first team in her first season in the league in 1999. She did all that by averaging 18.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.52 steals and 1.86 block shots. In her two seasons with the Long Beach Sting Rays, she was an MVP runner-up and Defensive Player of the Year.