"Dawn's a showstopper."--former NBA player Magic Johnson.

Dawn Staley knows that it is good to give. It was a lesson she learned playing basketball with the boys in her Philadelphia neighborhood growing up and one she put to use in winning back-to-back college player of the year honors at the University of Virginia. In 1996 Staley helped put women's basketball on the map with spectacular passes as the American team won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Today she displays her talents as a professional, preparing to play her first season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Growing Up

Learns to Pass

Dawn Michelle Staley was born May 4, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the youngest of five children of Clarence and Estelle Staley. She grew up in the tough North Philadelphia housing projects. Drugs and crime were all around Staley, but she tries...