The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is ushering in a blockbuster new class, announcing a list of its 2026 inductees this week with honorees spanning four players, two coaches, an ESPN contributor, and a posthumous veteran standout.
Two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker (LA Sparks, Chicago Sky, Las Vegas Aces) headlines the player lineup, with the three-time WNBA champion joined by 2019 WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics) and French standout Isabelle Fijalkowski (Cleveland Rockers), as well as three-time WNBA champ with the Houston Comets Amaya Valdemoro.
Minnesota Lynx manager and four-time WNBA Coach of the Year Cheryl Reeve also received a nod alongside nine-time national championship-winning Kirkwood Community College head coach Kim Muhl and former Clemson great Barbara Kennedy-Dixon, while ESPN analyst Doris Burke snagged an honor for her decades-long coverage.
Calling the Class of 2026 "eight distinguished legends of this exceptional sport," Hall of Fame president Dana Hart said in Friday’s release that "They exemplify the highest standards in women's basketball and have made substantial contributions to the sport, along with shaping the game's historical trajectory."
The formal induction ceremony of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will take place at Knoxville's Tennessee Theatre on June 27th.
WNBA officiating is once again taking center stage, with multiple head coaches reportedly issued fines after criticizing referee conduct in the weekend's playoff action.
Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve earned an ejection and suspension for attempting to confront referees during the Lynx's Game 3 semifinals loss on Friday, with the WNBA later handing her a $15,000 fine for lambasting officials in her postgame interview.
"The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worth is f—ing malpractice," Reeve told reporters last Friday.
Following Reeve's suspension, Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White and Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon voiced public support for Reeve and her concerns, with sources saying they each received a $1,000 fine for their comments.
"[Reeve] made a lot of valid points," White said on Sunday. "A lot of the same kind of conversations are happening. It's happening from every team, from every franchise, from every coach, from every player."
"From what I heard, she did not tell a lie," Hammon said of Reeve. "She said the truth. I think something has to change."
Officiating problems aren't new for the WNBA, but as the league's popularity explodes, refereeing disparities are now under an unprecedented spotlight.
"Every part of our league has gotten better, and that part has lagged behind, for whatever reason," White continued. "Oftentimes, it's infrastructure in terms of training, oftentimes, it's financial. And it's really investing in who we have as officials.... How do we keep them growing and getting better?"
Minnesota competed without their sideline leader in Sunday's 86-81 Game 4 semifinals loss, as the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury ousted the No. 1 Lynx while head coach Cheryl Reeve served a one-game suspension following her ejection from Friday's Game 3.
In the dying seconds of Friday's 84-76 loss, a collision caused Minnesota star Napheesa Collier to collapse with an ankle injury.
In reaction, Reeve ran onto the court as her staff worked to restrain her, earning the Lynx boss her second technical foul of the game for confronting the officials.
"The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinal-playoff worthy, it's f—ing malpractice," Reeve said after the game.
In a Saturday statement, the league said that Reeve's suspension stemmed from "aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, [and] failure to leave the court in a timely manner upon her ejection," as well as "inappropriate comments made to fans when exiting the court, and remarks made in a post-game press conference."
Officiating has been under fire throughout the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, with coaches like Golden State Valkyries' boss Natalie Nakase and Las Vegas Aces leader Becky Hammon expressing concerns about the quality and consistency of postseason calls.
"If this is what the league wants, okay, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating," said Reeve.
With support from the National Basketball Referees Association, the three-person officiating crew from Friday's Game 3 in Minnesota also oversaw Sunday's Game 4 between the No. 2 Aces and No. 6 Fever in Indiana.
The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx land in Phoenix on Friday night, looking to secure a crucial Game 3 win against the No. 4 Mercury after seeing their best-of-five 2025 WNBA semifinals tie at one game apiece back home.
"Our response to [Phoenix] was a little bit uncharacteristic," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve said after the Lynx blew a 20-point lead to cede Tuesday's Game 2. "We needed to go get buckets, and we had good opportunities. We weren't strong enough, we weren't tough enough."
"Nobody said this stuff was gonna be easy," she added.
Coming off just their third home loss all year, Minnesota's backs are now against the wall, forced to either take two games from the Mercury on the road or shoot for a decisive Game 5 back in Minneapolis.
The Lynx went 14-8 when traveling this year, nearly mirroring Phoenix's 15-7 home record — not to mention the Mercury's two postseason home wins that sent the defending champion New York Liberty packing in the first round.
Other than the strength and toughness noted by Reeve, a key to Minnesota's success on Friday will be avoiding the turnovers that led to their Tuesday downfall.
"It's frustrating, but it's a series," said Lynx forward Napheesa Collier. "So we need to go to Phoenix and take care of business."
How to watch Minnesota vs. Phoenix in the 2025 WNBA semifinals
The No. 4 Mercury will host the No. 1 Lynx for both of their weekend clashes in the 2025 WNBA semifinals, starting with Friday's Game 3 at 9:30 PM ET, airing live on ESPN2.
Game 4 will follow at 8 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage of the clash airing on ESPN.
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury went the distance on Tuesday night, overcoming a 20-point deficit against the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx to secure an 89-83 Game 2 win in overtime — and sending the 2025 WNBA semifinals to Arizona tied at 1-1.
Even more, Phoenix's come-from-behind victory set records as the third-largest comeback in WNBA playoff history.
Mercury forward Satou Sabally led the team with 24 points, while guard Sami Whitcomb added 13 points off the bench — including the game-tying three-pointer that propelled the matchup into overtime.
"Just pride, toughness, grit. I couldn't be more proud of our group for doing that," Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said afterwards. "I'm fired up. Phoenix is going to be rocking on Friday and Sunday."
After dominating Game 1, Tuesday's defeat marked the first time in Lynx franchise history that they lost a postseason game after holding a double-digit halftime lead.
"Suddenly, we lost our way," said Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve. "We didn't respond. Then when we needed to go get buckets and we had good opportunities, we weren't strong enough."
"I think we beat ourselves," forward Napheesa Collier added. "Unforced turnovers, not taking care of the ball when they were pressuring us, just keeping our composure in those situations is huge."
How to watch the Minnesota Lynx vs. Phoenix Mercury in Game 3
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will host the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx for Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals at 9:30 PM ET on Friday, airing live on ESPN2.
Atlanta Dream general manager Dan Padover made history on Tuesday, winning a record third WNBA Executive of the Year award after his revamped roster finished the 2025 regular season with a 30-14 record — doubling the team's 2024 win total.
Along with his two previous wins while leading the Las Vegas Aces in 2020 and 2021, this week's award puts Padover just ahead of Minnesota Lynx head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve, who snagged the honor in 2019 and 2024.
En route to this season's award, Padover proved instrumental in signing game-changing players like center Brittney Griner and forward Brionna Jones to join the Atlanta Dream during the offseason.
The fourth-year Atlanta Dream GM also brought in fresh coaching talent by tapping this season's winningest first-year head coach, Karl Smesko — a bold move considering Smesko had no professional coaching experience before Padover handed him the Dream's reins.
"The organization as a whole, it's in a great direction," Atlanta guard Allisha Gray said after Atlanta's first-round exit from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs. "We proved a lot of people wrong this year."
The Dream finished the 2025 regular season in third place, jumping from 12th to second in offensive rating (108.2), sixth to second in defensive rating (98.9), and 12th to third in assists per game (21.4) year-over-year.
The Liberty have officially parted ways with head coach Sandy Brondello, with the franchise announcing that it will not renew her contract for the 2026 season on Tuesday — less than one year after the manager led New York to a first-ever WNBA title.
The move follows the No. 5-seed Liberty's first-round exit from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, with the reigning champs falling to the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury in a winner-take-all Game 3 last Friday.
"Sandy finishes her tenure in New York as the winningest coach in franchise history, and she took us to never-before-seen heights as the first head coach to lead the Liberty to a championship," New York GM Jonathan Kolb said in a franchise statement on Tuesday. "We wish Sandy the very best in her next chapter."
The firing of Brondello sent shockwaves across the WNBA, with many questioning the unprecedented move — particularly considering that New York Liberty dealt with numerous high-profile injuries throughout the 2025 season.
"I didn't love it for Sandy, I'm gonna have to be honest," Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon told reporters following the news about Brondello. "She just won a championship, she has wins in other places, and I know her to be a quality coach and a quality person."
"I am absolutely thrilled if I am Seattle, Toronto, and Portland that I was just gifted a championship-level coach," echoed Minnesota Lynx manager Cheryl Reeve. "I think a lot of Sandy, personally and professionally."
With Brondello's dismissal, the WNBA has only three head coaches with more than one season under their belt: Hammon, Reeve, and the second-year Mercury boss Nate Tibbetts.
USA Basketball extended the tenure of head coach Kara Lawson on Monday, tapping the current Duke head coach to continue guiding the 5×5 team through the 2028 LA Olympics.
Lawson will helm the US at next year's FIBA World Cup as well as all training camps, exhibitions, and competitions in the lead-up to the 2028 LA Games.
"I will work tirelessly to uphold the standards of this storied program. There is no greater honor in our sport than to be chosen to lead the US women in world competition," Lawson said in a statement. "There is nothing more important than pushing this group to reach its potential."
After serving as an assistant coach during Team USA's eighth straight gold-medal run at the 2024 Paris Games, Lawson took over sideline duties for the national squad at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup, leading a roster stocked with NCAA players back to the top of the international tournament's podium this summer.
The 13-season veteran athlete of the WNBA first won Olympic gold with the US as a player in 2008, then head coached the 3×3 team to gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before joining previous 5x5 head coach Cheryl Reeve's staff ahead of the 2024 Games.
Lawson is first choice of new Team USA director Sue Bird
While a committee tapped Lawson for her initial 5x5 head coaching stint this summer, Monday's multi-year extension decision comes straight from USA Basketball's new women's national team managing director Sue Bird, who played with Lawson on the 2008 Olympic team.
Hired last May, Bird now oversees all processes for player and coach selections, with the new term for Lawson marking the first head coaching decision by the Hall of Famer — though the USA Basketball Board of Directors later added their stamp of approval to Bird's call.
"Having shared the court with her, I know firsthand the leadership, competitive spirit, and basketball IQ that she brings," Bird said of Lawson. "Kara has always had the respect of her teammates and her players, something she has earned and demonstrated over decades."
Second-year Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts has his work cut out for him as No. 4 Phoenix preps for Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals against the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night.
Armed with a revamped roster and a modern technical approach common among next-gen WNBA coaches, Tibbetts will try to lead Phoenix to the win the Mercury need to tie up their best-of-five series — doing so against a Lynx team laser focused on returning to the WNBA Finals under legendary manager Cheryl Reeve.
"They've been doing it, and now they've all got championships under their belt," Tibbetts told JWS, giving props to elite veterans coaches like Reeve. "Nothing is new to them when it comes to this league."
Ending the regular season on a 27-17 record, the Mercury have benefitted from Tibbetts's stretch offense all year, lengthening the court and freeing up room for sharp-shooters like 2025 WNBA MVP finalist Alyssa Thomas to crash the glass.
That strategy led Phoenix to a Top-5 regular-season finish in rebounds per game (34.7) and assists per game (20.9), as well as total 3-pointers made (414).
"[It's] just maximizing shot attempts, getting your players to understand the true values of what a shot looks like from a points-per-shot basis," Tibbetts explained. "I don’t think you need to overdo it — there's a ton of smart players in our league."
How to watch the Phoenix Mercury vs. Minnesota Lynx in Game 2
Tibbetts and the No. 4 Mercury will try to even the score with Reeve and the No. 1 Lynx in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN.
When the WNBA announced that Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase won the 2025 Coach of the Year award last week, the honor underlined an incredible year for new coaching talent in women's basketball as this year's playoffs continue.
Nakase made headlines all season, leading Golden State to a historic playoff berth in the 2025 expansion side's first year. She stocked a brand new roster that excited fans across the country, and built the team's locker room culture from scratch. The result was flashy, modern basketball, based on playing hard, stretching the floor, and keeping the on-court tempo high.
"Her unique approach to leadership and ability to hold players accountable with care, while staying true to her values has been remarkable," Golden State GM Ohemaa Nyanin said of the debut head coach.
And as end-of-year award momentum grew, Nakase took the attention in stride.
"Nobody really cares [about awards], honestly," she said in early September. "I'm just being deadass, our goal is to make the playoffs. To think about it, it really should be coaching staff of the year."
Nakase's success is just another example of a league that's changing, as the coaching carousel widens and new philosophies enter the game, while younger prospects take on the mantle of head coach for the first time. Minnesota's Cheryl Reeve, New York's Sandy Brondello, and Las Vegas's Becky Hammon have become synonymous with the WNBA's elite, but new entrants like Nakase alongside Atlanta's Karl Smesko and Phoenix's Nate Tibbetts are infusing the league with new ideas — all while leading their teams to historic playoff berths.
A new generation of WNBA coaches make their marks
Even with coaching staff experience, becoming the head coach of a professional basketball franchise is never easy, Tibbetts told JWS earlier this month. He made the leap to the head coaching ranks in 2024, after spending more than 10 years as an assistant coach with multiple NBA teams including the Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic.
"Any time you slide over those 12 inches, and go from one seat to the next seat, there's just changes," he said, noting that having the power of final say inevitably adds a whole new level of responsibility.
"When you're a head coach, you make decisions every day, and it's not just basketball stuff," he continued. "That is probably the thing that overwhelms you."
Nakase also entered the WNBA armed with NBA experience, joining Hammon's Las Vegas staff as an assistant in 2022 after a successful stint with the LA Clippers. She later moved into the head coach's box with two league championships under her belt, announced as Golden State's inaugural boss in 2024 before immediately setting a tone for the team's future.
"I'm taking a little bit of everything [from my past]," Nakase told JWS ahead of the 2025 season. "And I'm still constantly learning."
She recalled helping the Aces through their first title run in 2022, applying her small ball experience with the NBA to the team's matchup with the Connecticut Sun. "I remember Becky being super open with ideas, just kind of taking [that series] by the horns," she said.
In California, Nakase fell in line as a collaborative leader, transforming the squad from an unfamiliar lineup to a unified force by the end of their first regular season.
"An assistant coaching role is way different than a head coaching role, but who Natalie is to the core has stayed the same," current Valkyries — and former Aces — guard Kate Martin recently told San Francisco Chronicle. "She wants the best out of us. She's going to love you up, but also tell you what needs to be fixed — what you need to do to be better. And I think you can always appreciate that from a coach."
Over in Atlanta, Smesko's background looked a little different. He coached at the college level, successfully leading Florida Gulf Coast for more than 20 years before making the leap to the pros in 2025. He was known as an analytic wonk in NCAA circles, earning tournament berths on a strict system of three-pointers and post layups. Though he knew working with professionals required a slightly different approach.
"I was pleasantly surprised how coachable and how eager the players at the W level are to learn," he recently told JWS. "They want to be good. They want to be taught things that are going to help them become better players."
Smesko's biggest learning curve was less about responsibility, and more tied to process. He was surprised how much less time he had to implement systems in the fast-moving WNBA, where professionals tend to be less immersed in day-to-day basketball operations than student-athletes on a college campus.
"I think that forces you, as a coach, to really be deliberate and efficient," he said of the shift. "What are the things you're going to cover, and what are you going to try to get better at that particular day?"
The rookie coaches behind the WNBA's three-point revolution
Instituting a stretch offense — where guards and forwards pose legitimate threats from outside while opening interior space up inside for post players who can shoot — has been an ongoing project in the WNBA, and the league's newest coaching class has continued its evolution.
Basketball legend Candace Parker popularized the approach as a player in the 2010s, with Hammon later embracing it as a way to get the most out of versatile Aces forward A'ja Wilson.
While Smesko and his set certainly aren't draconian in their methods, stretch offenses have exploded in popularity this season. The highest-performing teams have consistently proven comfortable taking a healthy mix of shots from behind the arc. Nakase's Valkyries led the WNBA in regular-season three-pointers made with 427, followed closely by fellow postseason contenders Atlanta and Phoenix.
While established coaches like Brondello and Reeve also encourage players to let it fly, stretch offense devotees Nakase, Smesko, and Tibbetts helmed the year's top three teams in attempted three-pointers — with each landing more three-pointers than 2024's stat-leading team.
"It's just more space for everybody to work, more actual area for defense to cover and respect," Smesko said, noting that offensive decisions get easier when the opposing defense has to cover more ground.
Tibbetts credits the way the stretch system has entered the conversation at all levels. Coaching staffs are teaching players to optimize their points-per-shot percentage, essentially setting up every offensive action to be as efficient as possible well before they launch a high-value shot.
"[It's] just maximizing shot attempts, getting your players to understand the true values of what a shot looks like from a points-per-shot basis," he summarized.
Phoenix registered the third-highest regular-season pace of play in the WNBA in 2025, allowing for more possessions per quarter, and subsequently more shot attempts — not to mention a higher volume of three-pointer attempts. Roster construction also played into it, with Tibbetts and the Mercury's front office making sure to surround veteran inside players like MVP finalist Alyssa Thomas with teammates that understand how to push tempo and create space.
No matter what system you run, of course, any good coach also knows it's all about balance. "I don't think you need to overdo it," said Tibbetts. "There's a ton of smart players in our league."
Chasing WNBA teams — and coaches — at the top
There have long been plenty of smart coaches in the WNBA. And to some extent, Nakase, Smesko, and Tibbetts all run similar offenses to the league's current titans of success: Brondello, Reeve, and Hammon.
"We're all trying to catch those three," Tibbetts said, wondering aloud if WNBA teams have been casting wider hiring nets in an attempt to increase parity at the coaching level. "We've done a good job of adding talent in our league, but those three are the top tier, and we're all trying to get to that level."
Hammon received two WNBA Coach of the Year votes in the wake of Vegas's 30-14 run, while Reeves received two votes for her work leading the regular season's winningest team.
"All those teams have great players, and they're just very well coached," Smesko added, giving the Aces, Liberty, and Lynx props. "They're very disciplined. They have a plan. They follow that plan."
In Phoenix, Tibbetts posited that league experience and the proven ability to handle adversity make coaches like these difficult to de-throne.
"It's not like we're reinventing the game. They've been doing it, and now they've all got championships under their belt," Tibbetts said. "Nothing is new to them when it comes to this league."
Putting coaching perspectives to the postseason test
The new WNBA coaching class saw quantifiable regular-season success, but the first round of the 2025 playoffs emphasized that there's still room to grow before they truly threaten the WNBA's tactical elite.
Nakase's No. 8 seed Valkyries had their hands full against Reeve's No. 1 Lynx, ceding the series to the top seed in two games, despite a competitive final matchup at home. And despite sending the reigning league champion Liberty home with last week's decisive Game 3 win, Tibbetts's Mercury is off to a 0-1 semifinal start against Minnesota.
Smesko's Atlanta side also faced stumbling blocks, as the No. 3 seed suffered a last-minute Game 3 upset to No. 6 Indiana, stamping a successful season with a frustrating ending at home.
A playoffs exit stings, but it's far from a major setback for these early-career coaches. They value the intangibles over the Xs and Os, and players have responded to their guidance in kind.
"The organization as a whole, it's in a great direction," Atlanta guard Allisha Gray said after the Dream's final loss. "Karl, he has so much faith in us, and we proved a lot of people wrong this year."
"I just credit 'Big Wheeze' [AKA Smekso] for the turnaround," Gray continued. "He did a great job this year and brought the vision, and we believed in it."
Regardless of their postseason performance, the Valkyries have taken Golden State by storm, selling out their home slate while establishing themselves as Northern California's premier women's sports franchise. Nakase has embraced the warm welcome, developing a reputation for supporting her players and not being afraid to speak her mind.
"I love playing for a fiery coach who always wants to win and believes in her players so much," Martin said. "That hasn't strayed from Vegas to here, her belief in every single player she's coached."
It's eyes on the prize for this WNBA coaching class
While vital, coaching is just one ingredient in any team's success. And Smesko believes that the WNBA's competitive upswing is primarily fueled by one thing: the talent in the locker room.
"There's never been as many great players as there are right now," he reflected. "Combined with the movement that everyone is adopting, it leads to a really fun style to watch."
Even as their postseason hopes ebb, this generation of WNBA coaching talent is eager to get started on the future — especially as the league continues to pick up steam in both popularity and parity.
"The game is evolving, the sport is evolving," said Tibbetts. "But I think more than anything, it's just all the new eyes on this game."