Te’a Cooper is not your average WNBA player. Known to the sports world as the newbie guard for the Los Angeles Sparks, to others she is a celebrity on social media, amassing 1.4 million followers on Instagram and 1.5 million on TikTok. Her basketball skills, personality, dance moves, and sense of humor drive her popularity. Now she’s adding philanthropy to that list by partnering with Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation to provide the gift of sport and surprise kids with the Dick’s Giving Truck.

Cooper recognizes that giving back to the community, especially the city of Los Angeles, is something very significant to her:

“L.A. has a special place in my heart being that it's the place where my dreams came true,” said the Sparks guard. “Giving back to the community and watching kids light up, especially with the time of year [and] with everything that everyone’s been going through… it's really special and sentimental. I am super excited to be part of it.”

Los Angeles was the city that gave Cooper the chance to prove herself in the WNBA. Back in 2019, Cooper was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury. Then COVID happened. Teams had to set up their roster without going through training camp leading to Cooper getting waived by Phoenix. However, she ended up signing with the Sparks after Kristi Toliver opted out of the 2020 WNBA season. That was all Cooper needed to make her mark for the Sparks and the city of L.A.

In her first season with the LA Sparks, she averaged 7 points, 2 assists, and 1 rebound per game. And as she grew comfortable within the league and with her team, she then averaged 9.1 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game in the following season. Ending that season with a bang, in the last three games, she averaged 19 points, 3 assists, and 1.3 rebounds. Also, shooting 64% from the field and 60% from three-point range in the final game against the Dallas Wings.

Giving back is something that Cooper always keeps in mind, so when she was approached by the sporting retail giant, she knew immediately that she wanted in. The Giving Truck and Cooper virtually surprised a group of young athletes at a local LA-based nonprofit through video technology built onto The Giving Truck.

The Giving Truck will travel to eight cities: Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Denver. And it will provide 10,000 gifts of sports equipment to children from under-resourced communities.

Not only did the children get to see Cooper they also got the opportunity to interact with the LA Sparks guard and just be in the moment.

For Cooper, she believes interaction is key when trying to highlight women in sports and inspiring the future generation of athletes.

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“I think getting us out there, showing our face and interacting with them will give them a lot of hope and inspire them to become professional athletes,” the LA Sparks guard added. “The lack of coverage is why a lot of young girls don't know about women’s basketball and women’s sports.”

Cooper hopes that by being seen she can help inspire and educate. She also wants the skills to back it up. Cooper continues to train throughout the offseason to be prepared. While she will indulge in the holiday season and traditions, her main focus continues to be consistency.

“I really want to work on consistency with everything and my time on the court. I think that my tempo, my pace, going to the basket and my shot are going to improve a lot.”

While an official start date for the 2022 WNBA season has yet to be announced, one thing that Cooper does know is that she will be ready.