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Adrienne Goodson: WNBA’s coaching pipeline has an answer

Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve and assistant Katie Smith huddle up with their team during a game last season. (David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury’s recent head coaching vacancies have reignited discussions about the WNBA’s player-to-coach pipeline. While the league has made progress toward more diversity in the past year, men still filled six of the 12 head coaching jobs in 2021.

Former WNBA All-Star Adrienne Goodson has seen firsthand what the hiring cycle is like, having aspired to enter coaching after her playing career ended in 2005. She looks to Minnesota Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve as an emblem of a more inclusive future in the WNBA. Reeve has been vocal about getting more women and women of color into coaching positions, and what her role is in fostering that growth.

In her own words for Just Women’s Sports, Goodson shares highlights from her recent conversations with Reeve and Lynx assistant coach Katie Smith, what she’s learned about the coaching pipeline over the years and what the league can do to close the gender gap at the top.

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Cheryl Reeve is a warrior in the push to get more women and women of color into positions of leadership in the WNBA. Since she recognized what she calls a coaching “crisis,” she’s made the decision to hire only women to her coaching staff with the Lynx. She wants to ensure her female assistants are given the same opportunities that James Wade (Chicago Sky, 2019) and Walt Hopkins (New York Liberty, 2020) got when they were hired as head coaches.

When I caught up with Coach Reeve recently, she told me how important it is for women in leadership positions to become the norm, and anything she could do to contribute to that, she would. Because even though she’s in a high place as coach of the Lynx, and now also of the U.S. women’s national team, she still has glass ceilings that she has to bust through. I’m glad she’s had the success that she’s had as a coach so she can sit down at the table with the decision-makers. She’s the change that she wants to see in the league.

As she told me: “I got to a space I never thought of when I had two male assistants. James Wade’s resume was pretty strong in terms of number of years and who he worked with, like Dan Hughes, before he came to Minnesota, so he was ready. My next hire was Walt Hopkins. And we can’t blame him when people wanted to interview and ultimately higher him, but when that moment hit, it’s not a case of anything against Walt Hopkins, it’s more about, OK if I’m a feeder, I’m a feeder to the next head coach opportunities and we’re in crisis mode. I’ve got to make sure that my feeder system includes Black females and females. So I said, while in crisis, we are only going to hire females until we can get a much better representation among our 12 teams. … I wanted to be a part of the solution and that is where the passion came from.”

Coach Reeve’s relationship with Katie Smith is a great example of the player-to-coach pipeline the WNBA can foster. Cheryl coached Katie while they were with the Detroit Shock and got to know Katie’s personality. She said that was so important during the process of bringing her on and her becoming a coach.

Katie was a spitfire on the court. She was very competitive and would do whatever it took to win the game, whether it meant playing the one, the two, the three, the four, the five, if necessary — a couple of times, I remember her being thrown in the post in Minnesota. Cheryl liked that about her, that she could constantly adapt and adjust, and she knew that she would fit in on her coaching staff.

When they let go of Katie in New York, Cheryl said, “Listen, that is not an indication of who you are as a coach,” and she wanted to remind Katie of all of the great things people were saying about her. From there, Cheryl brought her on, and the rest is history. On the court, Cheryl leans on Smith to act as her “buffer,” just as Cheryl did for Bill Laimbeer back in Detroit. Katie appreciates how coordinated the Lynx are as a staff — between her, Cheryl, Plenette Pierson and Rebekkah Brunson — and she believes their history with each other helps with the day-to-day decisions and their overall success.

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Reeve learned under coach Bill Laimbeer in Detroit before getting the head coaching job in Minnesota. (Dan Lippit/NBAE via Getty Images)

The WNBA is hot right now, and I think they could use more investment dollars toward developing players who want to coach in the future. Let’s stop being the hope that we want to see and actually make it happen. Let’s start walking and living and breathing it like Coach Reeve.

I’ll even throw myself into the pot. I feel any team that hires me in the WNBA is going to be a problem. I have that Marianne Stanley mentality on the court. I’ve been on the men’s side of it, in the NBA’s assistant coaches program. I’ve coached men’s varsity in Newark, N.J. I got a lot of my skills from Wendy Larry at Old Dominion because, in the WNBA offseason, I used to go back and be an assistant coach on her staff. We won the 2005 CAA tournament championship. We got to the Sweet 16.

Former players interested in coaching in the WNBA, like me, have to seek out those opportunities because there’s no pool. You’ve seen more WNBA athletes becoming coaches in the NBA because of the assistant coaches program. The WNBA has to have a pool that also includes the players who are on the outside trying to get in. It seems that you always have to know somebody in order to move up, so it’s a whole lot for us to get back in as coaches or into positions in the front office.

We’ve seen progress in the past year with the Wings hiring Vickie Johnson and the Dream appointing Tanisha Wright. The bigger problem is that there’s no pool, and without it, teams are more inclined to recycle the same coaches.

There has to be communication between former players and the league; it can’t just be players talking to players all the time. And then we have to sit across the table from the higher-ups and come up with viable solutions to what’s going on. I’m not even at retirement age yet. That’s why there was never a conversation about 401Ks or pensions because players are retiring at 38. But it has to be a conversation, just like building the pipeline from player to coach has to be at the forefront.

Based on what I’ve heard and read, I’m pretty confident the Liberty and Mercury are doing their due diligence with the interview process for their head coach openings. I just hope that everybody they felt was a good candidate has gotten an opportunity to showcase themselves.

Adrienne Goodson (“Goody”) is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. She played 14 years of professional basketball, including seven in the WNBA. A three-time All-Star in the pros and an NCAA champion, she was inducted into the Old Dominion Hall of Fame in 1999. She is the host of the podcast “A WNBA State of Mind with Adrienne Goodson.” Follow her on Twitter @agoody15_wnba.

The Late Sub Podcast: Marta’s Orlando Dream Comes True

Orlando Pride veteran Marta looks out during a game
Eight-year Pride veteran Marta scored the game-winner that clinched the NWSL Shield for Orlando. (Kelley L Cox/Imagn Images)

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins gives a postmortem on this era of the Las Vegas Aces, before claiming the Liberty as WNBA championship frontrunners and prepping for Tuesday's Game 5 semifinal between the Lynx and the Sun.

Then, she chats about Orlando’s incredible run to the 2024 NWSL Shield, the individual NWSL records primed to fall, and aimlessness further down the league table.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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Lynx, Sun Gear Up for Win-or-Go-Home Battle in Tuesday’s WNBA Semifinals Game 5

Connecticut's Alyssa Thomas leaps with the ball
The Sun heads to Minnesota for tonight's winner-take-all Game 5. (David Berding/Getty Images)

After splitting their first four games, tonight's Game 5 semifinal will determine who will go on to face New York in the 2024 WNBA Finals: the Minnesota Lynx or the Connecticut Sun.

The two teams' best-of-five series has been the tightest of the 2024 postseason thus far. Both claimed one road win and one at home, and even the series score sheet is wildly close, with the Lynx putting up 321 points across the four games and the Sun posting 315.

New WNBA season, same elimination game matchup

Tonight's tilt marks the pair's second-straight season competing in a winner-takes-all playoff showdown after the Sun beat the Lynx 90-75 in Game 3 of 2023's first round.

"At this point, you know each other inside and out," said Sun coach Stephanie White after Sunday's win. "It's about players making plays. It’s about the extra efforts. The hustle plays. It's about not being denied and finding something deep inside of you that allows you to come out on top."

Unlike the Lynx, the Sun have the added motivation of hunting a franchise-first WNBA championship. Minnesota, on the other hand, boasts four titles already, most recently in 2017.

It's something top-of-mind for veteran Sun forward DeWanna Bonner, who called the atmosphere in Minneapolis for Game 1 and 2 "absolutely insane."

"I can only imagine what it will be like in a Game 5. We know that," Bonner continued. "I wouldn’t tell the team anything other than focus in on each other. They have great fans, championship fans. They’ve won multiple championships. They’re hungry for another one."

Minnesota's Napheesa Collier and Connecticut's Brionna Jones jump for the ball
Either Napheesa Collier's Lynx or Brionna Jones's Sun will tip off against New York on Thursday. (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)

Stats pave a complicated road to the Finals

To overcome Minnesota's hunger, Connecticut will likely defer to Sunday's winning formula. The return of guard Ty Harris from injury had an immediate impact, as did the Sun's performance behind the arc — Connecticut sank 53% of their three-pointers while the Lynx failed to crack 40%.

For their part, Minnesota will be aiming to stifle Connecticut's offense, which saw five Sun players score double-digits on Sunday.

"We have to get back to what got us in this position in the first place, which is our defense," noted Lynx star Napheesa Collier, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year.

How to watch Sun vs. Lynx in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA semifinals

The Sun and Lynx will tip off in Minneapolis at 8 PM ET tonight, with live broadcast and streaming coverage on ESPN2.

Orlando Pride Win First-Ever NWSL Shield Behind Marta’s Game-Winning Goal

Marta holds Orlando's first-ever NWSL Shield
Marta scored the game-winner goal for Orlando on Sunday. (Mike Watters/Imagn Images)

With three regular-season matches left, the still-undefeated Orlando Pride clinched the 2024 NWSL Shield with Sunday's rainy 2-0 win over the second-place Washington Spirit.

Marta converted the 57th-minute game-winning penalty kick, securing her team's first-ever piece of hardware with her eighth goal of the season.

"I stayed here because I want to make history with this team," the Brazilian soccer icon, who's been with the Pride for eight years, said afterwards. "And then we did tonight, and then we go for more."

Though the Pride's dominance this season is unmatched, Washington was notably without several key players. Between injuries and yellow card suspensions, the Spirit faced Orlando without Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger, Hal Hershfelt, Leicy Santos, or Ouleye Sarr.

The Current celebrate Temwa Chawinga's record-tying 18th season goal.
Kansas City's Temwa Chawinga tied Sam Kerr's 2019 scoring record on Saturday. (EM Dash/Imagn Images)

Chawinga ties Kerr's NWSL scoring record

It took less than two minutes for Kansas City's Temwa Chawinga to find the back of the net in Saturday's 2-0 win over Louisville, tying former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr's single-season NWSL scoring record with her 18th goal.

With three matchdays to go, the Malawian striker is all but guaranteed to upend Kerr's 2019 record.

"I think that Temwa's ability to get behind the line and then drive towards the goal, and being aggressive going towards the goal, is something that differentiates her," KC head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "Temwa's just a pure goalscorer. We're happy that she's done it for us this season and hopefully she continues to do it."

Other noteworthy NWSL results

In other NWSL news, fifth-place North Carolina punched their postseason ticket with Saturday's 2-1 win over San Diego. The day before, last-place Houston become the first club eliminated from the 2024 playoff picture.

Gotham’s 5-1 Saturday blowout of Bay has the defending NWSL champs achingly close to leaping second-place Washington on the table. The two clubs are tied for points, with the Spirit's shrinking goal differential giving them the tenuous edge.

On the other hand, Saturday's 2-1 loss to 12th-place Utah extended Portland's NWSL winless streak to seven matches. The Thorns are remarkably still in seventh-place, but sit tied for points with eighth-place Bay FC. With lower-table teams hungry to rise above the postseason cutoff line, every match left could see Portland fall from contention.

New York Advances to WNBA Finals as Connecticut Forces Game 5

The New York Liberty celebrate making the 2024 WNBA Finals
New York made the WNBA Finals for the sixth time on Sunday. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Sunday's WNBA semifinals action saw top-seeded New York end back-to-back defending champion Las Vegas's season while the Connecticut Sun staved off elimination to force a deciding Game 5 against the Minnesota Lynx.

The Las Vegas Aces look on as the trailed the Liberty on Sunday
Sunday's Game 4 eliminated the two-time defending champion Aces. (Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

New York ends Aces' WNBA three-peat campaign

The Liberty claimed a second-straight trip to the WNBA Finals with Sunday's 76-62 victory over the Aces, ending to the defending champs' three-peat dream in four semifinal matchups.

After being held to just four points in Game 3, Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 22 points. Teammate Breanna Stewart was just behind with a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double.

Though New York led nearly wire-to-wire, Las Vegas kept Game 4 within reach, thanks in large part to three-time MVP A'ja Wilson's 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks. The Aces trailed by just two points after three quarters, but a 16-2 fourth-quarter Liberty run ultimately earned them the win.

"They've been the best team all year — let's be real," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said about New York after the game. "Their group earned it. They earned it all year."

The Liberty huddle up during Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals
The Liberty will hunt a franchise-first WNBA championship in the 2024 Finals. (Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

Having walked away disappointed last season, New York — the only original franchise still playing without a title — knows that nothing is guaranteed in their upcoming sixth Finals appearance.

"We haven't done anything yet," a fired up Ionescu said after Sunday's win. "We're three wins away, and that’s really important to understand. We got to come out and we got to punch because nothing has been given to us yet."

How to watch the Liberty in the 2024 WNBA Finals

Game 1 of the best-of-five Finals tips off in Brooklyn at 8 PM ET on Thursday. Live coverage will air on ESPN.

Connecticut forces winner-take-all Game 5 against Minnesota

After Friday's home-court loss to Minnesota, the Sun tied up their semifinal series with a come-from-behind 92-82 win on Sunday, forcing a winner-take-all Game 5.

Trailing by seven points at the break, Connecticut staged a second-half comeback. The Sun outscored the Lynx 49-32 to keep their first-ever WNBA title dream alive.

Ty Harris led Connecticut with a career-high 20 points in her post-injury return to the starting lineup. Four of her teammates also put up double-digits: Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner each had 18 points and eight rebounds, while DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey added 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Minnesota's Napheesa Collier dribbles around Connecticut's Alyssa Thomas
Napheesa Collier led the Lynx in scoring in Games 3 and 4 of the WNBA semis. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, who led the Lynx with a 29-point, 13-rebound double-double, said her team needs to step it up when the series moves back to Minnesota on Tuesday.

"We have to go home and defend our home court. We're both playing for our lives, so we have to play with that level of intensity," Collier said after the loss.

How to watch Sun vs. Lynx in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA semifinals

The Sun and Lynx will tip off Game 5 in Minneapolis at 8 PM ET on Tuesday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

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