The Sky have two regular-season games remaining to either lock up their fifth consecutive postseason appearance or embark on one of the most critical offseasons in franchise history.
That includes the 2023 free-agency period during which former coach/general manager James Wade failed to re-sign three franchise stars. The departure of Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley and Candace Parker officially marked a rebuilding era less than two years after winning the franchise’s first WNBA title.
This offseason will prove even more significant than last year as ownership and management are tasked with naming the next coach and general manager, who, whether in dual or separate roles, will face completing a rebuild they didn’t start.
When it comes to the coaching role, here is a list of names who warrant heavy consideration:
Teresa Weatherspoon
The Naismith Hall of Fame player and the Sky already have spoken about the coaching job, although Sky CEO Adam Fox declined to comment on the extent of those talks. An Olympic gold medalist and five-time WNBA All-Star, Weatherspoon was hired by the Pelicans in 2019 and released this summer. She was one of four finalists for the Mercury coaching job in 2022 before the team hired Vanessa Nygaard, who was fired midseason this year.
Sonia Raman
Raman is another potential candidate who has already had at least one conversation with the Sky about the head-coaching role.
Raman has been with the Grizzlies since 2021 after coaching 12 seasons at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She led the program to the NCAA tournament twice in her tenure.
Jenny Boucek
After going undrafted in the WNBA’s first-ever draft in 1997, Boucek earned a spot on the Cleveland Rockers’ roster, where she played one season before a career-ending back injury. Two years later, she was back in the WNBA as an assistant with the Washington Mystics.
Boucek went on to earn the head coaching job with the defunct Sacramento Monarchs from 2007-2009 and the Storm from 2015-2017.
She became the third woman hired in an assistant coaching role in the NBA when the Kings hired her in 2017. Boucek joined Rick Carlisle’s Mavericks staff in 2018 and remained until 2021. Following Carlisle’s resignation, she was hired by him again in 2021 as an assistant on his Pacers staff. She was promoted to the front of the bench this summer.
Interim coach/general manager Emre Vatansever’s first coaching job in the WNBA was on Boucek’s staff in Seattle.
Lindsey Harding
Harding was hired as the head coach of the Kings’ G-League affiliate in June after spending four seasons with the team as an assistant/player development coach. Before being hired by the Kings, Harding was a player development coach and scout for the 76ers.
Harding spent nine seasons in the WNBA from 2007-2016, playing for the Lynx, Mystics, Sparks, Dream, Liberty and Mercury.
Natalie Nakase
Before joining Becky Hammon’s staff in Las Vegas, Nakase was part of the Clippers organization for 10 years in various roles. She started as an intern on Vinny Del Negro’s staff in 2012 before becoming the assistant video coordinator under Doc Rivers. She spent three seasons as a player development coach/assistant before being hired by the Aces.
This season, she served as the Aces’ interim coach for one game during Hammon’s two-game suspension to start the year for violating team and league workplace policies in regard to the treatment of former Aces forward Dearica Hamby during her pregnancy. She led the Aces to a 94-85 victory against the Sparks in her head-coaching debut.
Kara Lawson
A WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist, Lawson spent a year with the Celtics before being hired as head coach of Duke’s women’s basketball program in 2020. In her third season, she led the program back to the NCAA Tournament after a four-year hiatus.
In 2020, Lawson led the first U.S. Olympic 3x3 Women’s Basketball Team to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics with an 8-1 record.
