As WNBA growth continues to skyrocket, Black women head coaches are missing from the sidelines

The WNBA is in the midst of a cycle of coaching upheaval. Since the end of the 2023 season, 13 of the now 15 WNBA franchises have hired a new head coach. Eight of those jobs have gone to men, only two have gone to former WNBA players and zero have gone to Black women.

In 2025, Noelle Quinn was one of four former WNBA players to serve as a head coach and the lone Black female coach. With the Seattle Storm choosing not to renew Quinn's contract, no Black woman is currently a head coach of a WNBA team, and barring a drastic offseason shakeup, that will be the case at the start of the 2026 season. That would make 2026 just the third season in WNBA history to tip off without a Black woman at the helm, joining 2006 and 2020.

While Natalie Nakase, who is headed into her second season leading the expansion Golden State Valkyries, and Sonia Raman, the newly-hired Seattle Storm coach, are both women of Asian descent, the absence of Black women coaches in a league where Black women account for over half the player pool is jarring. 

"When you look at 63.8% of all players identifying as Black or African-American, and you don't have that reflected in the coaching staff, there's an issue. There's a problem," Alicia Jay said on the latest episode of CBS Sports podcast We Need To Talk Now.

As the league continues to grow and evolve, why does it seem like retired players — especially the Black women who make up the majority of the league — are being left behind?

The WNBA is changing, on the court and off

Business and tactical changes to the nearly 30-year-old league are contributing to the drastic coaching turnover. As college stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers transition into the pro game, with them comes more viewership, attendance, and media coverage. On the court, the spike in versatile and elite-level talent means tougher competition.

As parity in the league grows, it becomes harder to win. Teams want coaches who can win now. Gone may be the days of a coach remaining with one franchise for 16 seasons, as is the case with Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.

"This league is different than just a couple of years ago, let alone that long ago," New York Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said in September while addressing the decision to part ways with Sandy Brondello.

"This decision comes after a thorough examination of what the New York Liberty need as we move forward into a future of an ever-evolving WNBA," Kolb added. Brondello, who became the winningest coach in Liberty history en route to the franchise's first WNBA title in 2024, was no longer the competitive edge the organization needed.

The Liberty have since reportedly hired Chris DeMarco, a former NBA assistant coach and first-time head coach, to usher the 2024 champions into the next era of New York basketball. DeMarco is part of a growing trend: Right now, seven of the 15 WNBA head coaches have spent at least one year as an assistant coach in the NBA.

NBA assistants are flooding to the WNBA

Part of the reason NBA coaches may be desired hires in the WNBA is because of the shift in the game. As the emphasis on positionless basketball increases, so too does the need for players to continue to improve their individual games.

In the WNBA, players like center Jonquel Jones are shooting from the perimeter and wings like Satou Sabally can take defenders off the dribble. Coaching staffs need to be able to develop a dynamic game plan to adjust to the new style of play. Player development roles, which have been commonplace in the NBA for years, are beginning to migrate to WNBA staffs.

Additionally, the WNBA expanding to 18 teams by 2030 means there will be more head coaching roles available. As ESPN analyst and 2014 No. 1 overall draft pick Chiney Ogwumike recently noted on social media, there are more NBA coaching jobs (including assistants) than there are WNBA players at the moment, and the NBA tends to recycle former head coaches rather than provide opportunities to assistants.

"Getting a promotion to head coach in the NBA, especially with how they recycle respected names, probably seems really difficult, nearly impossible," Ogwumike said.

So, NBA assistants looking for a chance to run their own team might be more enticed to take a leap to the WNBA — especially now that WNBA coaching salaries are trending into seven figures.

"You know what they say? Money talks. With coaches now making well over a million dollars, the WNBA is now becoming a destination for opportunity," Ogwumike said.

While the increase in salaries and status might account for NBA talent seeking WNBA roles, it doesn't explain why former WNBA players aren't getting opportunities to lead in the league they helped build. Reports indicate former WNBA players such as Kristi Toliver and Lindsay Harding were up for vacant roles this season, but clearly, they didn't get hired.

"It's getting increasingly hard for aspiring coaches or even former players to win from within," Ogwumike said, shouting out players-turned-coaches like Briann January, Karima Christmas-Kelly, Toliver and Harding.

A clog in the pipeline

Ironically, the trend of NBA assistant coaches jumping to the WNBA was jump-started by six-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon.

Hammon has only been with the Las Vegas Aces for four seasons, but she is already the second-longest tenured WNBA head coach, trailing only Reeve's 16. Previously, she was a trailblazer for women coaches in the NBA; she spent seven seasons as an NBA assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs.

So, when Hammon had instant success at the WNBA level, coaching the Aces to three titles in her first four years at the helm, it made sense that WNBA front offices started looking for other coaches with NBA experience.

While Hammon was just the second woman to be an assistant coach in the WNBA, she was far from the last. By 2020, 11 women were actively serving as NBA assistant coaches. Many of those were Black women. But quietly, in the past couple of years, the number of women on the sidelines in the NBA has decreased. It is hard to find exact numbers due to the fact that every NBA team configures their coaching staffs differently and assistant coaches are regularly changing jobs, even within season, but right now it seems there are less than five women serving as assistant coaches in the NBA, including Harding with the Los Angeles Lakers, Jenny Boucek with the Indiana Pacers and Mery Andrade with the Toronto Raptors.

So, as the hiring of NBA assistants is becoming more prevalent, very few women are getting the opportunity to hold those positions and gain that necessary experience. And, as male coaches continue to gain power in the WNBA, it seems we are no closer to seeing a woman break through as a head coach in the NBA. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley recently said she doesn't foresee a female NBA head coach in her lifetime.

Unrivaled provides a blueprint

The women's basketball startup Unrivaled seems to have found a balance between hiring coaches with NBA experience, player development backgrounds and Black women.

"I think it's powerful that there are five black women leading, there are five black women head coaches in this Unrivaled league. It's not by accident. I believe it's intentional," Quinn said during an Unrivaled media availability this week.

Quinn, Rena Wakama and Roneeka Hodges are new to the league and join returning Black women coaches Teresa Weatherspoon and Nola Henry, who squared off in the inaugural Unrivaled championship last season.

Weatherspoon returns to Vinyl BC after being let go by the Chicago Sky after just one season as a head coach. She was replaced by former Las Vegas Aces assistant Tyler Marsh, a first-time head coach who recorded a 10-34 record and last-place finish. Despite posting a worse record and reports of issues with star player Angel Reese, Marsh was not one of the three coaches let go after the 2025 offseason.

"Representation is possible when leadership chooses to make it possible," Quinn said. "So I'm just blessed to be a part of the league standing on intentionality behind diversity and hiring women, women of color and I give kudos to Unrivaled for leading the way now."