NBA Assistants Drawing Interest From WNBA Teams Seeking Head Coaches

Several WNBA teams with head coaching openings are eyeing assistants on NBA clubs as potential candidates, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (video link).

While Fischer didn’t identity any specific assistant coaches who are drawing interest from WNBA teams, he suggested it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some make the leap ahead of next season.

“There is a wave right now of WNBA teams looking to keep bringing NBA coaching talent from the league into the W,” Fischer said. “That is what’s happening all across these searches right now. … In the last four or five years (since) I’ve been shifting more into this intel space, insider world, I’ve never heard more people talking more about the intriguing opportunity for NBA assistant coaches to join a WNBA franchise as a head coach right now.”

The Los Angeles Sparks, Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics, Dallas Wings, and Connecticut Sun all currently have head coaching vacancies. Expansion teams in Toronto and Portland will also have to hire coaches before they begin play in 2026. According to Fischer, the Sparks, Dream, and Mystics have all hired search firms to help them identify top candidates.

The salaries for WNBA head coaches are believed to be in the $500K-$1MM range, sources tell Fischer, which is part of the appeal of the jobs. While those figures pale in comparison to top NBA head coaching salaries, they compare favorably to what a lot of NBA assistants are earning. According to Fischer, many front-of-bench NBA assistant coaches have salaries in the neighborhood of $200-300K.

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, who was hired ahead of the 2022 season, and Nate Tibbetts of the Phoenix Mercury, hired prior to 2024, are among the current WNBA head coaches who spent years as NBA assistants and were plucked directly off NBA staffs. Hammon became the highest-paid coach in WNBA history when she was hired and Tibbetts reportedly surpassed her two years later.

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