The WNBA has been praised in the past as a leader for its diversity hiring practices.
That hasn't changed, but some things have.
At the end of the 2022 season, half of the 12 head coaches in the league were Black. Two years later, Seattle’s Noelle Quinn is the only one left after Tanisha Wright was let go in Atlanta and Teresa Weatherspoon was fired in Chicago in the past few weeks. Los Angeles also parted ways with Curt Miller during the same time frame.
“We have three open coaching spots. So we’ll certainly be looking for our owners to have a diverse pool of candidates, and ultimately they’ll make the decision on their head coaches,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.
Golden State, which begins play next season, hired Las Vegas assistant Natalie Nakase as its coach on Thursday. She's the first Asian American head coach in league history.
The teams won't have to look far to find a qualified pool of Black candidates to fill the three vacancies. There are several Black WNBA assistant coaches, many of whom were former players, who merit consideration, including Briann January, Kristi Toliver and LaToya Sanders. Seattle’s Pokey Chatman and Atlanta’s Vickie Johnson both have been WNBA head coaches.
The WNBA has never had a bigger spotlight on it with the growth of viewership and attendance. With that comes more scrutiny, pressure to succeed and, inevitably, coaching changes. Owners are looking for quick if not immediate turnarounds.
The three coaches who were fired were finishing either their first, second or third year on the job. All dealt with injuries to key players this season.
Weatherspoon was the most surprising of the group, let go by Chicago after just one season. The Sky were in the draft lottery last season and were clearly in rebuilding mode. Weatherspoon connected with the team’s young star Angel Reese and Chennedy Carter, who both expressed their disappointment on social media that she was fired.
Reese posted on X that she was “heartbroken” and “lost for words.” She called Weatherspoon “an unsung hero in my life” who didn’t deserve to be let go.
The Sky brought in a new general manager, Jeff Pagliocca, this past season who was hired a few weeks after the franchise signed Weatherspoon. Before his promotion, Pagliocca's role with the team included assisting with player development and advising the head coach.
“I don’t know if it contributed to the decision at all, but obviously, it’s rare that a GM is hired afterward,” Pagliocca said. “But we made it work as long as we could.”
Wright had three years in Atlanta and led the team to the postseason the last two before the Dream were knocked out in the first round each time.
Engelbert said having a candidate pool that includes WNBA assistant coaches is not by accident.
“There’s not a Board of Governors meeting that we don’t talk about this," the commissioner said. “As you know, we’ve made enormous progress especially in the assistant coaching ranks with former WNBA players by essentially focusing on this over the last couple years.”
Some of the Black assistant coaches likely to be considered for open head coaching vacancies:
She been an assistant coach for the Connecticut Sun the last two years after a stellar playing career. During her 14-year career, the 37-year-old January was named to the all-defensive team five times.
Toliver, 37, coached in Washington and Phoenix in the WNBA. She also has spent a few years with the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. Toliver won two titles in the WNBA as a player.
Sanders coached with the Mystics the past three seasons and was promoted to associate head coach. She had a seven-year playing career in the WNBA. Sanders, 38, was responsible for working with Washington's post players.
He has been an assistant with the Aces since 2022 and helped the team win two consecutive WNBA titles. Before that stint, Marsh, 36 spent time in the NBA, G League and NCAA.
A five-time WNBA champion, Brunson has been an assistant with the Lynx since 2020 after a standout playing career. The 42-year-old was one of the greatest rebounders in WNBA history. She was a five-time All-Star and was named first-team all-defense.
___