Former WNBA star Candice Dupree joined the NBA coaching ranks Friday.

The San Antonio Spurs brought on the seven-time All-Star as an assistant on Gregg Popovich’s staff, a position that provided a pipeline to success for Becky Hammon. Hammon worked as an assistant for the Spurs for eight seasons, then left earlier this year to lead the Las Vegas Aces to a WNBA title in her first season as a head coach.

When Hammon joined the Spurs in 2014, she became the first WNBA player to coach in the NBA. The number of WNBA players to follow her path remains slim but has grown over the last few years.

In total, 16 women have coached in the NBA. Dupree becomes the 10th current or former WNBA player to coach in the NBA, and she joins four other current or former WNBA players as active coaches in the men’s league.

WNBA players to coach in the NBA

Becky Hammon
San Antonio Spurs, 2014-22

After retiring in 2014 from the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars, Hammon joined the Spurs and became the first woman to work as a full-time assistant coach in any of North America’s four major men’s professional leagues.

She also became the first woman to serve as an acting head coach in NBA history when Popovich was ejected from a game in December 2020.

She left the Spurs to join the Aces, and she led the team to a 26-10 record and a WNBA championship in her debut season.

Nancy Lieberman
Sacramento Kings, 2015-17

Lieberman coached the WNBA’s Detroit Shock from 1998-2000. Later, she coached the Texas Legends of the NBA Developmental League from 2009-11, becoming the first woman to coach a men’s professional basketball team.

In 2015, she was hired by the Kings as an assistant coach, and she spent two seasons with Sacramento.

Jenny Boucek
Sacramento Kings, 2017-18
Dallas Mavericks, 2018-21
Indiana Pacers, 2021-present

Boucek spent 18 seasons as an assistant and head coach in the WNBA before making the switch to the NBA.

She joined the Kings as a player development coach in 2017, then became an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks in 2018. In 2021, she jumped to the Indiana Pacers with head coach Rick Carlisle, who had hired her to his Mavericks staff.

Kristi Toliver
Washington Wizards, 2018-20
Dallas Mavericks, 2021-present

An active player in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks, Toliver also works as an assistant coach in the NBA. She started with the Wizards in 2018, during her time as a player for the Mystics, then switched to the Mavericks in 2021.

Niele Ivey
Memphis Grizzlies, 2019-20

Before she became the head coach of the Notre Dame women’s basketball team, she spent the 2019-20 NBA season as an assistant with the Grizzlies.

Kara Lawson
Boston Celtics, 2019-20

Like Ivey, Lawson coached for one season with the Celtics before joining the college ranks as the coach of the Duke women’s team.

Lindsey Harding
Philadelphia 76ers, 2019
Sacramento Kings, 2019-present

Harding started her coaching career as a player development coach for the 76ers, then flipped to fill the same role for the Sacramento Kings.

Teresa Weatherspoon
New Orleans Pelicans, 2020-present

The five-time WNBA All-Star served as the head coach of her alma mater Louisiana Tech’s women’s basketball program for six seasons. She was named a part-time player development coach in 2019, then became a full-time assistant coach in 2020.

Edniesha Curry
Portland Trail Blazers (2021-22)

Curry worked as an assistant coach for the women’s and then the men’s basketball teams at University of Maine before joining the Trail Blazers in 2021.

Candice Dupree
San Antonio Spurs (2022-present)

A 2014 WNBA champion with the Phoenix Mercury, participated in the NBA Assistant Coaches Program (ACP), created to expand the player-to-coach pipeline, and joined the Spurs in September.

More NWSL stars are jumping ship, as both the San Diego Wave and North Carolina Courage saw respective key players Delphine Cascarino and Denise O'Sullivan sign with WSL clubs over the last few days.

Former Wave forward Cascarino inked a deal through the 2029/30 season with the London City Lionesses on Monday, one day after San Diego announced they had mutually parted ways with the French international despite her contract running through 2026 with an option for the 2027 NWSL season.

"I'm really happy to be here," said the 28-year-old in a statement. "London City is the only independent women's club in the WSL, which excites me."

North Carolina midfielder and captain O'Sullivan made a similar move on Saturday, as the Ireland international signed with Liverpool following more than eight seasons and a club-record 186 appearances for the Courage.

The last-place WSL team reportedly shelled out a club-record transfer fee of approximately £300,000 to roster the 31-year-old two-time NWSL champion and three-time Shield-winner, who called Liverpool "a new challenge" that will see her "only a 40-minute flight away" from her family in Cork, Ireland.

Though the NWSL departures of Cascarino and O'Sullivan mark a kind of homecoming for the European standouts, they are just the latest to exit the US league, after USWNT star Sam Coffey joined WSL-leaders Manchester City last week.

"England — for men and women — is the country of football," noted Cascarino. "It's always been a goal of mine to play in this league."

New York Sirens forward Taylor Girard made PWHL history this week, earning a record four-game suspension for leaving the bench to join a line skirmish at the end of Sunday's 2-1 win over the Montréal Victoire.

The brawl occurred at the the final buzzer of the PWHL's record-breaking Takeover Tour stop in Washington, DC, with eight players — four Sirens and four from the Victoire — subsequently issued 10-minute misconducts in addition to Girard's infraction.

As the sole player not originally on the ice to join the skirmish, Girard was the only player to receive an additional 20-minute charge.

Even more, Girard's actions immediately triggered a four-game suspension, as the PWHL Rulebook dictates that exact punishment for "the first player to leave the players' bench illegally during an altercation or for the purpose of starting an altercation from either or both Teams."

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The four-game ban marks the longest punishment in PWHL history, doubling the two-game suspension that Seattle Torrent defender Aneta Tejralová received for an illegal check to the head last month.

With the PWHL on break after January 28th as 30% of the league's rosters compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, the four-game suspension means that Girard — who sits second on New York's scoring sheet with five goals on the season — will not be available for the No. 2 Sirens until March 5th.

The WTGL is stocking up on golf stars, as TMRW Sports' newly announced offseason league begins to build its debut roster in partnership with the LPGA.

World No. 1 golfer Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand) signed on to participate in WTGL's inaugural season this week, alongside No. 5 Charley Hull (England), No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand), No. 25 Brooke Henderson (Canada), and No. 79 Lexi Thompson (USA).

"WTGL will be a global stage to showcase LPGA stars, and this first wave of committed players represents that opportunity with some of the world's best," said TMRW Sports founder and CEO Mike McCarley in Monday's press release.

Set to launch next winter, the WTGL looks to build off the popular, second-year men's Tomorrow's Golf League (TGL), with the competition integrating both a physical and virtual golf environment inside Palm Beach Gardens at Florida's SoFi Center.

"These players will thrive in WTGL's competitive environment as fans will witness their skill and connect more deeply with their personalities through the unprecedented access the league delivers," said McCarley, noting that TGL golfers remain mic'd up throughout the team event.

The WTGL is also earning stamps of approval from several women's sports greats, as the Alex Morgan co-founded Trybe Ventures — an investment group that includes Morgan's fellow former USWNT stars Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach — became the new league's lead capital partner last week.

The WSL is cashing in on the women's game, with two UK clubs surpassing €25 million in annual revenue for the first time, according to the Deloitte Football Money League report on the 2024/25 season that dropped this week.

Reigning UWCL champions Arsenal topped the list for the first time after taking in €25.6 million last season, followed closely by WSL title-holders Chelsea FC's €25.4 million.

Meanwhile, Perennial European contender FC Barcelona (€22 million) dropped to third after leading the group in 2023/24, outpacing WSL titans No. 4 Manchester City (€12.9 million) and No. 5 Manchester United (€12.8 million).

Due to a lack of revenue data, the yearly study did not include major women's leagues in the US, Sweden, or Australia, giving the rankings a European bent as the total sum crossed the €150 million mark for the first time — a 35% increase over the previous season's Top-15 Money League clubs.

Commercial income was the biggest revenue driver for many top clubs, with sponsorship deals and brand partnerships leading the charge.

Arsenal also benefitted from increased revenue on the men's side, allowing the women's team to up its investment while avoiding running at a loss.

How to watch the top Deloitte Football Money League clubs in action

Deloitte Football Money League leader Arsenal will take on No. 5 Man United while revenue runners-up Chelsea will face the WSL-leading Man City in the 2025/26 Women's League Cup semifinals on Wednesday.

The concurrent clashes will kick off at 2 PM ET, streaming live on YouTube.