Incoming 2026 WNBA expansion side Portland sprung a leak this week, prematurely introducing NBA assistant Alex Sarama of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the inaugural head coach for the Fire on LinkedIn early Tuesday morning before pulling the post.
Shortly following the retracted news, the Fire did official announce that WNBA veteran Ashley Battle will join the team as VP of basketball operations, strategy, and innovation.
Per a Front Office Sports report, Portland is currently on track to announce Sarama's hiring in the coming days, though the parties are still working to finalize a contract.
Sarama falls in line with the WNBA's recent turn to the NBA pipeline, with the Phoenix Mercury bringing on head coach Nate Tibbetts from the Orlando Magic in 2023, the Las Vegas Aces tapping Becky Hammon from the San Antonio Spurs in 2021, and Hammon herself hiring now-Golden State Valkyries boss Natalie Nakase from the LA Clippers in 2022.
Sarama also has experience with Portland Fire GM Vanja Černivec, after both spent time working for the British Basketball League's London Lions.
While the rollout might have come early, Portland now has their basketball staff in place as the WNBA enters an uncertain offseason dictated by tense CBA negotiations.
The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces are closing in on their third title in four years, taking down the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury 90-88 in Wednesday's Game 3 to push their 2025 WNBA Finals lead to 3-0.
A late surge kept the Mercury's do-or-die Game 3 dreams alive before 2025 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson scored the game-winner with just 2.2 seconds left on the clock, capping an impressive 34-point, 14-rebound performance en route to becoming the most prolific scorer in a single postseason in league history.
"Get the ball to A'ja, and get out of the way," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said afterwards, joking about calling her team's final play.
"We all had 100% confidence in A'ja," said guard Jewell Loyd. "Everyone on that bench was saying, 'We're winning this game.'"
As for Phoenix, the Mercury's likelihood of bouncing back in the league's first-ever best-of-seven series is hard to predict — but basketball history is not on their side.
On the men's court, no NBA team has ever won a championship series after being down 3-0, and only four teams in the league's 159 total seven-game playoff series have ever forced a decisive Game 7.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat — we've got a tough road ahead," Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. "But we've got to take it one game at a time."
How to watch Game 4 of the 2025 WNBA Finals
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will get one last crack at survival in the 2025 WNBA Finals as they look to halt the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces' momentum in Game 4 on Friday.
The matchup will tip off live at 8 PM ET on ESPN.
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury returned to Arizona on a mission this week, tipping off Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals down 0-2 to the red-hot No. 2 Las Vegas Aces and in dire need of a bounce-back performance.
"We need to be better defensively," said Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts ahead of Wendesday night's clash. "We haven't done a good enough job getting stops."
"First and foremost, we gotta play better defense," echoed forward Alyssa Thomas. "Still a lot of confidence here. We just know we have a lot of room to improve."
A 0-2 deficit has historically spelled disaster in the WNBA's previous five-game championship series, but this year's first-ever best-of-seven format gives postseason underdogs like Phoenix a bit more cushion.
"There's no panic, no pressure," said Thomas. "That's the beauty of a seven-game series. If we're sitting at five games, it's basically elimination."
"We've got two games here to do what we need to do, two guaranteed games here," added veteran forward DeWanna Bonner.
As for Las Vegas, the Aces will also be on their game, looking to avoid a slow-down in momentum on the road.
"It's going to be a different environment playing at their place, but we have to stick together, stay within ourselves, and just continue playing Aces basketball," Las Vegas guard Jewell Loyd told reporters.
How to watch Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will hunt their first victory in the 2025 WNBA Finals on home court when they host the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces for Game 3 at 8 PM ET on Wednesday.
Live coverage of the clash will air on ESPN.
The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces raced to a 2-0 series lead in the 2025 WNBA Finals over the weekend, opening with a close 89-86 Game 1 victory over the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Friday before pulling off a more dominant 91-78 Game 2 win on Sunday.
The Aces' offense ruled the court, with guards Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd putting up a momentum-shifting combined 39 points off the bench in Game 1 before Game 2 saw guard Jackie Young post 32 points — setting a WNBA Finals record with the most points by a player in a single quarter (21).
Young and 2025 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson — who is averaging 24.5 points per game through the first two Finals matchups — also became the second-most prolific duo in a single Finals game in WNBA history by combining for 60 of Las Vegas's 91 points on Sunday.
"I am so proud of Jackie," Wilson said after Sunday's win. "I'm a pain in the ass sometimes when she's not doing her job, because I know that [potential] is there."
Hunting their third title in four years, Las Vegas veterans Wilson, Young, and guard Chelsea Gray are combining with new signings Evans and Loyd to make things difficult for the new-look Mercury.
"We have weapons," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said. "We want to use them all, because we're harder to guard that way."
"What gives me confidence is we've been down before," countered Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts. "We've been overlooked."
While no WNBA Finals team has ever bounced back from a 0-2 start, the league's new best-of-seven format gives the Mercury a little extra cushioning as the series travels to Phoenix for Game 3 on Wednesday.
How to watch Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will hunt their first victory in the 2025 WNBA Finals on home court when they host the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces for Game 3 at 8 PM ET on Wednesday.
Live coverage will air on ESPN.
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury land in Las Vegas to tip off the first best-of-seven finals in league history on Friday night, leaning into a new-look roster as they take on the No. 2 Aces in Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals — the Mercury's first championship series since 2021.
"This is what it's all about," said Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas ahead of the matchup. "We play the whole season for playoffs and moments like this. I want to win. I've been chasing a championship for a long time, and I think this is our time."
The Mercury found almost immediate success this year after picking up top free agents like Thomas and fellow forward Satou Sabally during a productive offseason.
"I'm really happy with the strides that we've made, how we're trying to build this team moving forward, because there were some players that took chances on us and you want it to go well," second-year Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts told JWS last month.
"It speaks volumes about the team and how we stay composed, how we can go on runs and ride the wave," Thomas said. "You don't know what each game is going to bring, but the biggest thing is us staying composed."
Phoenix will have their work cut out for them on Friday night, facing a Las Vegas home unit armed with significant postseason experience as Aces mainstays A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray shoot for their third title in four years.
"We've been here before, we have a team full of vets, but they do, too. I don't think you can take that for granted," said Young.
How to watch Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury and No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will tip off the 2025 WNBA Finals at 8 PM ET on Friday, with Game 1 airing live on ESPN.
Game 2 will follow at 3 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on ABC.
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury are headed to their first WNBA Finals since 2021, clinching their spot in the 2025 season finale after sweeping a two-game semifinals homestand against the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx with Sunday's 86-81 Game 4 win.
The Mercury are now the first team in WNBA Playoffs history to battle back from multiple 14-point deficits in a single series, with Phoenix star forward Alyssa Thomas putting up a team-leading 23 points to complete Sunday's comeback win.
"No one has had expectations for us except ourselves," Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts said following Game 4. "The pride and the togetherness for such a new group, it's pretty impressive."
After ceding a 20-point lead in Game 2, the Lynx's championship prospects took an even bigger hit on Friday, as leading scorer Napheesa Collier exited Game 3 with a serious ankle injury that left her sidelined for Sunday's big Game 4.
"You just want it for the people around you," said Minnesota guard Kayla McBride, who posted a game-leading 31 points in Sunday's loss. "You want it for the people who grind with you every single day, good days, bad days, bus rides, locker room."
"In pro sports, it doesn't get any better than what we have in our locker room," McBride continued. "I would feel [this emotion] one hundred times over to be with the people that I've been with."
While Minnesota's season is officially over, No. 4 Phoenix will now await the winner of Tuesday's semifinal Game 5 between the No. 6 Indiana Fever and No. 2 Las Vegas Aces, with the best-of-seven 2025 WNBA Finals set to tip off on Friday.
The New York Liberty cleaned house this week, officially parting ways with 2024 WNBA championship-winning head coach Sandy Brondello while starting the search for a new sideline boss — with some reported "big swings" in mind.
Multiple league sources told The Athletic that New York is aiming for high-profile candidates, with the Liberty likely scouting coaching talent from both the NBA and the NCAA.
With top New York Liberty stars Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones entering free agency, the pressure is on for the front office to prove that hiring a new head coach will offset the issues that emerged during the team's injury-plagued 2025 run.
WNBA teams have tapped into a diversified head coaching pool in recent years, with Golden State Valkyries boss and 2025 Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase highlighting a rising generation of managers with a mix of men's and women's basketball experience.
The Atlanta Dream's Karl Smesko, an esteemed former college coach, and Phoenix's Nate Tibbetts — who spent years as an NBA assistant coach before joining the Mercury in 2024 — also found success on the WNBA court this year.
Potential replacements fitting New York's reported bill include Los Angeles Lakers assistant Lindsey Harding, Indiana Pacers assistant Jenny Boucek, Mercury assistant Kristi Toliver, and current Liberty assistant Sonia Raman.
"[Toliver's] ready," Tibbetts said recently, singing his assistant's praises. "She's got a great basketball mind. She's got the ultimate respect of the players in this league, which is so important, and her time will come — she just needs one team to give her a chance."
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.
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.
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.