CHICAGO (October 12, 2023) — The Chicago Sky have named WNBA legend and Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon as the franchise’s new head coach, the team announced today.
“We are thrilled to welcome Teresa Weatherspoon as the new head coach of the Chicago Sky,” Sky Co-Owner & Operating Chairman Nadia Rawlinson said. “A WNBA legend and five-time All-Star, Olympian, and college national champion, Teresa brings a wealth of NBA and college coaching experience to the Sky. Her standard of excellence and history of winning at all levels, passion, energy, and skill in player development make Teresa the perfect choice to build on our championship culture and usher in an exciting new era.”
She was selected No. 10 overall to New York in the WNBA’s inaugural draft in 1997. Weatherspoon then spent a legendary eight-year career in the league, with her first seven seasons with New York (1997-2003) and her final year with Los Angeles (2004). She led the Liberty to the first-ever WNBA Finals in 1997 and 1999. Weatherspoon is No. 2 on the Liberty’s All-Time Minutes played list (6,842), No. 1 All-Time Assists (1,306) and No. 1 in All-Time Steals (453) for the franchise. She returned to New York as the Liberty’s first Director of Player and Franchise Development from 2015 to 2019.
In 2016, she was named to the league’s Top-20 best and most influential players in WNBA history. She is a five-time WNBA All-Star Starter (1999-2003), four-time All-WNBA Second Team (1997-2000), two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (1997-98) — the first WNBA player ever to be named DPOY in 1997 — league leader in Assists and Steals in 1997, WNBA All-Decade Team Honorable Mention (2006) and named to WNBA Top-15 players (2011).
“I’m excited to be a part of the Chicago Sky Family,” Weatherspoon said. “To be the leader, as Head Coach, of an organization in a city with so much history and culture is a dream come true. The things that we are about to do as a team, a business and in the community will be rooted in excitement, excellence and hard work. I am thankful to the entire Chicago organization for going through this process and selecting me. I can’t wait to get to work!”
Weatherspoon has been inducted to five Hall of Fames, including the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2019), Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2020), Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (2010), Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2010) and the Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame (1995).
Internationally, the Pineland, Texas native is also a two-time Olympic Games medalist, earning Gold in 1988 and Bronze in 1992 with Team USA. She also spent six years of playing career in Italy, where she was named a six-time Italian League All-Star (1989-94) and a two-time Russian League Champion (1995-96).
Weatherspoon joins the Sky with well over a decade of coaching experience. She began her coaching career in 2007 as head coach of the Westchester Phantoms of the American Basketball Association.
In 2008, she joined the coaching staff at Louisiana Tech and was promoted to head coach in 2009. She led her alma mater to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2010-11), a Western Athletic Conference Tournament title (2010) and a WAC regular-season championship (2009, 2011). The two-time All-American tallied a 99-71 record as the Lady Techsters’ head coach.
She also led Louisiana Tech to an NCAA Championship as a player in 1988 and is the No. 1 All-Time Assist leader in school history (958). Her No. 11 jersey is now retired at LA Tech. On September 20, 2023, Weatherspoon was one of six LA Tech legends to be honored with a statue at the school.
Most recently, the New Orleans Pelicans hired Weatherspoon as a two-way player development coach in 2019 and stayed on the coaching staff as an assistant until 2023.