The Sky are finalizing terms to make Teresa Weatherspoon their new coach, according to her agent, Richard Gray.
Weatherspoon is set to become the Sky’s seventh coach. The former Pelicans assistant has been in talks with the Sky since August but negotiations between both sides picked up in September.
Weatherspoon was hired by the Pelicans in 2019 — the same year she was inducted into the Hall of Fame — as a two-way player-development coach and was promoted to assistant coach in 2020. She parted ways with the team in June.
Last year, she was one of four finalists being considered for the Phoenix Mercury head-coaching job before withdrawing her name from consideration.
A five-time WNBA All-Star and two-time defensive player of the year, Weatherspoon spent seven of her eight playing seasons with the Liberty before joining their coaching staff as their first director of player development in 2015. She coached at Louisiana Tech, her alma mater, from 2008 to 2014, leading the program to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths in 2010 and 2011.
Weatherspoon will be tasked with leading a roster built around three-time All-Star Kahleah Copper back to a competitive place following a tumultuous season that included former coach/general manager James Wade’s midseason departure and a narrow playoff berth.
The Sky went 18-22 in the regular season and edged out the Sparks for the final playoff spot. They were swept (0-2) by the Aces in the first round of the playoffs, after which the team announced interim coach Emre Vatansever would not return in the role. The Sky went 11-13 with him at the helm.
Copper clarified during exit interviews that the team would be separating the dual role of coach and general manager. According to multiple league sources, the Sky prioritized filling the coach role first and have not begun seriously considering GM candidates.
Sky CEO Adam Fox told the Sun-Times in September that the team was not committed to any timeline to fill the role. WNBA free agency begins in January.
“We’re looking to make the most informed and best decisions possible to make sure we have the right people,’’ Fox said.
