Three years after she retired, Houston guard Cynthia Cooper returned to the WNBA last season. But a torn rotator cuff ultimately sidelined the former All-Star after she had played just four games in 2003.

	Cynthia Cooper was the WNBA finals MVP in 2000.

Cooper won't even suit up for one contest this summer. The 41-year-old, who on Tuesday suffered another injury to the same shoulder that was surgically repaired last year, has decided to retire again.

Cooper announced her decision Saturday after consulting with team physician Dr. Bruce Moseley.

"After thoughtful discussion with Dr. Moseley and the medical staff, we are in agreement that it is in my best interest to retire from professional basketball at this time," Cooper said in a statement.

"With my shoulder injury, I don't want to continue going on and off the injured list because that would hurt the team," Cooper said. "This is the best for everyone, my family and the team. It's the right time to move on with my career off the court."

Comets owner Les Alexander had told Houston television station KRIV on Friday night that Cooper was retiring and would be an announcer for the Houston Rockets.

"Cynthia has got to do what's best for Cynthia," Alexander said. "I'm disappointed that I can't see Cynthia play. I loved watching her play. The sport is going to miss her."

Though you never want to see the career of someone who has meant so much to the sport ended early because of injury, this is a good, smart move by Cooper. She remains an incredible asset and savvy veteran for Houston, but she's still not close to the level of player she was in the late-1990s, when she helped lead the Comets to four consecutive WNBA titles.

It's also a very unselfish move that just might have played a key role in the Comets' ability to sign Michelle Snow on Friday. Snow was holding out for a higher salary. Three players on Houston's roster -- Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson -- are getting paid the maximum veteran salary (roughly $87,500). Janeth Arcain also is likely getting paid somewhere close to that, so Houston didn't have much flexibility with its salary cap to find the additional money to satisfy Snow. Cooper's retirement helps alleviate that problem a little bit.

Cooper, who has averaged 21.0 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 46 percent from the field in her 124-game WNBA career, first started hinting toward retirement last week. On Tuesday, Cooper suffered a contusion in her acromioclavicular, better known as the AC joint, in her right shoulder. After evaluation by team physicians the following day, Cooper was advised not to practice for 10 to 12 days.

With her arm in a sling after Tuesday's practice, Cooper seemed to realize that retirement might be her next option.

"I've had more injuries in the last two years than I've had my entire career, and that extends back from high school all the way through my professional career before I retired the first time," Cooper said in the Houston Chronicle.

"So, maybe my body is telling me at this point, 'Enough is enough. Move on.' At this point, that's something you definitely have to consider."

When Cooper first came out of retirement last season, she was almost immediately hampered by injuries, including a hamstring strain that kept her out two weeks at the start of the exhibition season. Then came the torn rotator cuff last May.

"I don't want to be a dead weight to the Comets," Cooper said in Friday's Chronicle. "That wasn't my goal originally, and it's still not my goal. So I'm putting the Comets' needs at the forefront. And we'll definitely come up with something in the next couple of days."

Still, Cooper knows her career has had many highlights.

"When I look back on it ... and what we accomplished with the Comets from 1997 to 2000, I had a pretty good career," she said in the Chronicle. "So I have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to be disappointed about. If it's time to move on, I should be the adult that I am and move on."

Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.

Nancy Lieberman, an ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage. Contact her at www.nancylieberman.com.