HOUSTON, Updated 7:00 p.m. CDT July 4, 2000 -- Houston Comets MVP Cynthia Cooper confirmed Wednesday that she plans to retire at the end of the 2000 season.
"It's time for me to move on," Cooper said. "I don't understand why it has been portrayed as something negative."
Cooper admits she was disappointed this season over her diminished role with the Comets. But she insists that it has nothing to do with her announcement to retire.
However, Cooper can always change her mind in time for next season. "I really don't have to make a decision until next season at training camp," she said.
The league's two-time most valuable player does have other career ideas, when she retires.
"I'll always be around basketball. I really want to begin a career in broadcasting," she said. "I also want to coach. I want to get my feet wet in the NBA, as an assistant, get my feet wet and move on and try something else."
Cooper's announcement comes as the Comets lead the WNBA with a 15-2 record, the best in the league. 
"I know there is a lot more basketball left in me, but I am not happy," she said. "And I'm not going to play for another team. Houston is where I started and this is where I want to finish."
The 37-year-old player has played basketball professionally for 15 years. She graduated from the University of Southern California and then played throughout Europe.
Cooper was the league's scoring champion in its first three seasons and the regular season MVP in 1997 and 1998. She was the first player in the WNBA to reach 2,000 career points.
But news of Cooper's intentions caught her coach by surprise.
"I'd hate to see us lose one of the top five people who have ever played this game," Chancellor said. "She is a player. There is nobody who's played this game that makes better plays than Cynthia Cooper."
