The true championship contenders across the WNBA have widened the gap between themselves and those aiming to prove their own legitimacy in the title race.

The biggest overachievers to date would have to be the league-leading Minnesota Lynx at an unprecedented 22-6 with only one game played by All-WNBA forward Napheesa Collier. Minnesota has the winningest coach in league history in “Lynx Boss” Cheryl Reeve, but the games still have to be played and adjustments called in from the sidelines to win them. Piloted by rookie star Olivia Miles, the Lynx are at the top of the hunt with a healthy Collier back in the fold.

The Dallas Wings are right there as well at 19-8 with the fourth-best record in the WNBA after winning only 10 games in 2025. ESPN had Dallas at No. 6 in their preseason rankings and projected 22 wins on the season. This team will likely surpass that total in early August. It helps that Fernandez’s strategic leadership has multiple players in career years, including superstar sophomore guard Paige Bueckers, a top MVP candidate fueling the fourth-best offense in the land. Led by first-year coach Jose Fernandez, Dallas is experiencing the best season since the franchise moved to North Texas in 2016.

While some leaders are experiencing rapid success, others continue to falter despite expectations of championship contention. Here are the ones that have found themselves in similar hot seats, but for different reasons.

Perhaps no seat in the WNBA is hotter than the one Los Angeles Sparks coach Lynne Roberts currently occupies. On Sunday, the team announced that it had fired its general manager, Raegan Pebley, after two and a half seasons at the helm. After being hired in December to bolster the front office, assistant GMs Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen will fill the role on an interim basis. They have a combined 12 years of experience in various roles in NBA front offices.

The Sparks have missed the playoffs the past five seasons and are possibly on the way to making it six with a 10-16 record and four games back of the Washington Mystics for the eighth seed. The team was built around Kelsey Plum, but has been without her since June 21 due to a leg injury. The Sparks have lost eight of their last 10 games, including a season-high five-game losing streak The uphill battle gets steeper with matchups looming against the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx, and Golden State Valkyries.

When Pebley dealt Rickea Jackson to Chicago for Ariel Atkins, the move was supposed to shore up the Sparks’ perimeter defense. That has not been the case for what has become one of the worst defensive teams ever. In their last 11 matchups, Los Angeles has allowed opponents to score 90 points in eight of them. At one point in early June, Roberts’ group had the worst defensive rating in WNBA history (115.6).

After their most recent matchup against the Lynx, their rating was still in the neighborhood at 112.3. Opponents are shooting 70 percent in the restricted area, the third-worst mark in league history. This is the result of tying nearly 70 percent of the salary cap to players well over 30, along with a plethora of negative defenders across the floor. The Sparks have a top-five offense by volume, but cannot sustain long enough stretches on defense to avoid shootouts in every outing.

When Pebley hired Roberts, the decision was said to be one focused on player development and returning the Sparks to greatness. The former Utah coach was part of the decision-making process that led to six prospects being selected by Los Angeles in the past two draft cycles. Only one player remains on the roster at this point in the season, and the lack of youthful talent to keep up with other teams is glaring in more ways than one on both sides of the ball.

The day after Pebley was fired, Roberts was asked if she thought her job was in jeopardy due to back-to-back underachieving seasons.

“Well, I don’t think we underachieved last year, and this year’s still going. We tripled our wins last year from the year before. I think for where we want to get, that’s not where we want to be. Tripling wins from one year to the next in my first year. I don’t think that’s underachieving. This year, we have not hit our stride. We’ve played one game with everybody on our roster healthy. We’ve been injured all year. Hopefully, we can get KP and Cam back. Our whole system is designed around KP and her unbelievable talent. I’m not even close to thinking we are underachieving at all.”

In 2024, Sparks center Cameron Brink tore her ACL 15 games into her rookie season. Azura Stevens suffered a left arm injury while playing overseas in China during the offseason, and only played 20 games. Lexie Brown appeared in 16 games before being sidelined indefinitely as she battled Crohn’s disease, which limited her availability in the previous season.

Marred with a myriad of other short-term injuries and the Olympic break, the team went 8-34, leading to former coach Curt Miller and the organization parting ways. The 2025 season saw 21 wins, three short of truly tripling the previous season's win total. According to The IX’s WNBA injury tracker, the Sparks have 10 registered injuries in 2026, the third-fewest in the league. Those 10 injuries have resulted in a total of 28 games missed, which is the fourth-fewest to date. Injuries were not a valid excuse for previous regimes, so Roberts being extended the courtesy is unlikely, especially when star guard Kelsey Plum could walk in free agency.

Plum signed a one-year contract for $999,999 in free agency just a few months ago. Halfway through her deal, The Athletic’s Annie Costabile reported Tuesday morning that the two-time WNBA champion does not plan to re-sign with the Sparks.

After a middling start to the season, the ramifications of poor asset management have found Los Angeles before it even ends. According to Costabile, the team has not “engaged in meaningful trade talks involving Plum”, but if she wishes to explore in free agency, the Sparks have to entertain possible deals for her expiring contract, or risk losing her for nothing.

Touting a 9-18 record with a plethora of close finishes may fool some, but the Chicago Sky might be one of the biggest underachieving units in the league. Before a basketball was bounced in preseason play, there was belief in the vision of Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca, even after shipping superstar forward Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream for what will ultimately be two low-end first-round picks and a second-round pick swap.

In free agency, Pagliocca signed six-time All-WNBA guard Skylar Diggins and veteran wing DiJonai Carrington, changing Sky culture overnight with two of the most notable competitors in the W on the same roster. Acquiring five-tool threat Rickea Jackson from the Los Angeles Sparks in a trade for Ariel Atkins without surrendering a single asset did much to support the belief that this campaign marked a new era of Sky basketball. In the second half of the 2025 season, Jackson stepped into an unfamiliar role with the Sparks and excelled, averaging 16 points on 44.1 percent from two and 39.3 percent from three. Her shooting was a crucial addition to the frontcourt alongside Kamilla Cardoso, showing that the organization was fully committed to building around their former No. 2 overall pick with ample spacing and shot makers. Entering his third season as general manager, Pagliocca executed his first trade that was considered a win, but the goodwill was short-lived.

Last February, Pagliocca dealt the No. 3 overall pick to the Washington Mystics, which turned out to be Sonia Citron, a 2027 first-round pick swap, and a 2027 second-rounder for Ariel Atkins, who had one year left on her deal and eventually signed with the Los Angeles Sparks after it. The 2027 Draft has once-in-a-lifetime talents at the top in Juju Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo, and Chicago is just a game behind the Connecticut Sun for the best lottery odds to send to D.C.

Keep in mind this trade was executed after the infamous trade in 2024 that saw Pagliocca move up in the Draft to secure the No. 7 pick from the Minnesota Lynx to select Reese for their own first-rounder, but that was far from all. In addition to a 2025 second-round pick, Minnesota was awarded the right to swap 2026 first-round picks that ended up being the No. 2 pick used to draft rookie superstar and MVP candidate Olivia Miles in April

After obtaining one of the worst two-year records in the WNBA lottery’s system, the Sky could have had their pick of legendary linchpins to develop near the top of the draft. But in typical Pagliocca fashion, it was merely a fleeting possibility after forfeiting the right to the pick in a 2025 trade with the Lynx, a transaction that added the No. 11 overall pick in last year’s draft. He used that pick to select Hailey Van Lith out of TCU. A year removed from drafting her, Pagliocca opted to send second-round picks to Portland and Toronto to prevent either franchise from taking a player or the rights to one in April’s expansion draft. Four days before the start of the 2026 season, Van Lith and two other players were waived.

Aicha Coulibaly and Maddy Westbeld were eventually re-signed to developmental deals. At 6’0” with a lengthy wingspan, Coulibaly wrecks passing lanes with deflections and takeaways. The rangy guard gets two feet in the paint at will, leading the Sky in free-throw rate (21.4) and good for top 10 in the WNBA. Developmental players are allotted 12 regular-season games before teams have to make the decision to waive them in order to re-sign on a standard contract.

After 10 games, the Sky waived Coulibaly and signed her to a rest-of-season deal, but her role has diminished since. For Westbeld, however, the second-year forward has been activated for just three games, even after the season-ending ACL injury to Jackson in the frontcourt. This begs the question of why valuable trade assets that could have been trade fillers were surrendered for players that are either not in Sky coach Tyler Marsh’s rotations or plans for them to be.

After building the futures of multiple franchises, it would seem plausible that any reasonable front office leader would course-correct with better asset management ahead of loaded draft classes over the next several years, but not the one in Chicago. In the midst of a fruitful free agency period, Pagliocca spoiled what could have been one of the top offseasons in the league by serving up another possibility of landing a generational prospect.

In yet another trade with the Mystics, Pagliocca sent a 2028 first-round pick in a draft headlined by UConn superstar Sarah Strong for Jacy Sheldon. Drafted with the fifth overall pick by the Dallas Wings in 2024, the former Ohio State product has been traded three times since, begging the question of what the embattled general manager saw in the journeywoman in one of his most puzzling deals to date. Pagliocca’s offseason blunders took a backseat to the reemergence of Jackson, but that period of grade ended abruptly, as did her impactful start to the season.

Losing Jackson for the season was a clear blow to the team's morale and altered the trajectory of the season, but the fusion of veteran leadership and young talent should have been able to absorb it and march forward. Instead, injuries and underachievement are rife down the roster. Carrington underwent ankle surgery in October and has yet to see the floor this season. The veteran wing is still without a clear return timeline, but was a full particpant for the first time this season in practice Tuesday.

After tearing her ACL last season, franchise legend Courtney Vandersloot is back on the court, averaging 9.1 points and 4.3 assists while shooting over 50 percent on twos and 36.8 percent on threes. Still, Vandersloot is one of the oldest active players in the WNBA at 37, and her production is not a long-term answer at the lead guard. On defense, it could not be clearer that her injury zapped what was left of the athleticism to defend a position that is getting younger and better than ever before.

Like other prospects who required development that WNBA teams overlooked, Sydney Taylor took her talent overseas to sharpen her toolkit. The 5’9” guard found success with Sosnowiec in Poland, averaging 23 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 57.8 percent on twos, 40.8 percent on threes, and 80 percent at the line. Against stiffer competition in EuroCup play, her production was fluid and consistent, proving to be worth a look stateside.

It might be safe to say that her skills are translating for the Sky. Since being promoted to the starting lineup, Taylor is a top-15 scorer in the WNBA, averaging 17.9 points (14th) with 48/38/84 shooting splits and a fiery 66.9 percent true shooting clip. The starters needed her spark, and she has provided it after a 30-point performance off the bench in a 114-106 loss to the Indiana Fever.

Veteran point guard Natasha Cloud was brought in to shore up the guard rotation, and her contributions came at the cost of being a liability on either side of the ball initially. In her last eight games before the All-Star break, however, the three-time All-Defensive ball hawk has returned to form, averaging 11.8 points, 5.9 assists, and 1.5 steals and plenty of defensive stops that are not on stat sheets.

Sheldon has been productive in spurts, but given the circumstances surrounding Chicago’s standing, surrendering a first-round pick was a gamble with a tab still to pay in two years. On paper, this roster was light-years ahead of the poor attempt at team-building in 2025, but the injuries and mass exodus of assets overshadowed it from the start. When the final card is flipped, the house always wins. For the Sky, the 2026 season is well on its way to adding another chapter in the infamous story of mismanagement and dysfunction that has defined the organization for decades.

After a debilitating 85-68 loss to the Tempo in early June, Sky point guard Skylar Diggins spoke about the issues plaguing the team.

“We got to have more maturity, on and off the floor. From the players on the floor and from the staff as well. We need more connectivity. If it was just versus one team, I would understand that. But now it’s been struggles. That's a trend of ours. It's disappointing. Really is. It's frustrating. The games ain't gonna slow down, and teams gone keep getting better and better around us, so we gotta figure out how we're gonna turn this corner here. It's been an extremely frustrating experience."

Like teammate Azura Stevens, Diggins was asked about Chicago’s halfcourt offense and halftime adjustments and directed the line of questioning towards Sky head coach Tyler Marsh. 

“That’s a Tyler question,” she said. “Ask him.”

Towards the end of their four-minute media availability, Stevens answered a question about the team’s rebounding. Diggins took responsibility for some of the Sky’s lack of success, shouldering it herself. 

‘‘Effort all around needs to go up, and we have to get out of that loser mentality that we have,’’ Diggins said. ‘‘ ‘Oh, here it goes again, here it comes again.’ We’re pros. We have to all step up when you’re pros, starting with myself, and figure it out because the games are gonna keep coming ... That's a heart thing, and that's what we lack right now."

When asked about Diggins’ frustration and his team’s struggles, Marsh did not have an answer, but he owned it. 

‘‘I’m not sure,’’ Marsh said. ‘‘I think it’s something we’ve got to continue to look at as a staff. I think the accountability starts there. Starts with me and ends with me, honestly. I understand the frustration. There’s frustration across the board. Nobody’s happy with where we’re at, record-wise or how we’re playing, so I take the hit on that.

‘‘How we are playing is on me. This is my second year here, and we haven’t gotten the results that we are looking for. That’s what comes with being in this position. I take that. I accept that. I definitely have to get better. Our staff has to get better.”

At the introductory presser for draft selections and free-agent acquisitions in April, Pagliocca joked about not wanting to deal with Skylar Diggins every night if she felt like she lacked the right players to go to war with. It took a fourth of the 44-game slate for Diggins to address the media about Sky’s production, or lack thereof. A native of nearby South Bend in northern Indiana, Diggins plays roughly two hours away from her hometown. Before joining the Seattle Storm for a two-year stint, Chicago was one of the leading teams hoping to land the seven-time All-Star. Since June 7, Chicago has dropped 10 of their last 13 games, and Diggins was benched after starting the first 19 games of the season.

On July 6, Diggins was told she was moving to the bench rather than starting. She posted to her Instagram, “Now I’m coming off the bench? Cool.” Then she said in a video, “And the crazy part about it all is I’ve been so quiet. I’ve been so good and quiet. I’ve been so good and quiet.”

This was hours before the Sky were set to practice, so it was clear that Diggins received the news well before then. Later, she said the news from Marsh caught her off guard and that she still failed to understand why she was moved to the bench. According to Diggins, they had not spoken since the previous Friday, and there had been “tons” of miscommunication since she signed with Chicago in free agency.

“I’ve been in this league for almost 400 games,” said Diggins at shootaround in Phoenix before a matchup against the Mercury. “I’ve been in a lot of places, and that’s always the case. I’ve been putting my body on the line. I’m here for this team. I’ve done everything that’s been asked of me. I’ve been great professionally. That’s the decision that’s made, and I gotta live with that.”

The last time Diggins came off the bench, excluding a return from ACL surgery in 2016, was her rookie season in 2013 for the Tulsa Shock. In the last decade, the 12-year veteran started 252 consecutive games. The stark departure from what Diggins expected when joining the Sky is clear, with two instances in the last month. When questioned by reporters in attendance, Marsh defended his move, describing it as a “coach’s decision” to create advantages for the roster.

“It’s just a decision I wanted to make and to shake things up,” he told CSOM Sports. “You can’t underestimate and understate what Sky [Diggins] has brought this season, and obviously the preparation that she puts into her body and the work that she puts in day in and day out to be at optimal performance. She treats it like a pro, and so this is a coach’s decision, and that’s all.”

Chicago has a staggering eight guards on the roster that play at least 13 minutes per game. Limited wing threats and post play outside of Cardoso and reserve Elizabeth Williams have not helped matters. Besides signing rookie free agent Saylor Poffenbarger to a hardship contract and ultimately waiving her once her replacement was healthy, in-house options have been slim.

“There’ll be moments, obviously, we’re guard-heavy, roster-wise, and so we’ll have to continue to find that rotation, that rhythm amongst the three and beyond,” said Marsh on optimizing three-guard lineups. “There’s different combinations that we have yet to see work, and/or have yet to see play out, and some that we know that we like. So, we’re going to continue to push forward and see what fits as we move forward.”

Frustrated with a decision she disagreed with, Diggins accepted it and was prepared to move forward.

“Every decision that’s made basketball-wise is made by [Marsh],” said Diggins. “That’s my boss. Even if I don’t like the decisions, I have to be a pro and go with whatever he thinks.”

Since losing Jackson for the season, Diggins is tied with Taylor for second-leading scorer behind Cardoso, averaging 14.6 points, shooting 40 percent from the field and 39 percent on threes
(3.7 att). She is the team’s best threat from outside by volume and percentage and is far from being one of the many issues plaguing the Sky, but the veteran has struggled to find her shot inside the arc this season. Inside the arc, Diggins is shooting career lows at the rim (41.4%), in the paint (38.5%), and one of her lowest marks on long twos (36.7%). 

Though Marsh declined to say who would replace Diggins, franchise icon Courtney Vandersloot joined Natasha Cloud and Taylor in the starting lineup in the debut of the Sky’s new three-guard lineup against the Mercury. Since returning from rehabbing a torn ACL suffered last June, Vandersloot has returned to the team and has looked better than most would have thought, averaging 8.3 points and 4.8 assists. In four games, the 16-year veteran is shooting 53.8 percent on twos and 42.9 percent from deep (1.8 att). Vandersloot is still on a minutes restriction and has yet to play more than 20 minutes, but has injected life into the offense. From a strategic standpoint, moving rookie Gabriela Jaquez to the bench in favor of Cloud provides experience and an extra ball handler on the floor.

Though Marsh’s framing of the situation seemed to be rooted in the X’s and O’s, it fails to tell the full story of why Diggins erupted on social media the way she did. Such a reaction from a player of her caliber meant there was more to it than what was previously known. With reporters in attendance in Phoenix, Diggins filled in the blanks, revealing an insufficient chain of communication from the front office down to Marsh and a failure to meet expectations within the organization.

“I had surgery in October on my knee, and I’ve been playing through a lot of stuff,” said Diggins. “I had a scope to fix two torn meniscus in my knee before I got to Unrivaled. I’ve been playing through a lot of things. I’ve been sacrificing my body for this team.

“Being in this environment emotionally for me, not having everything that we need to be successful,” Diggins said. “I’ve been elite for decades. And it’s not just from showing up. We fight so hard in our CBA to have access to a cold tub, a hot tub, a sauna, a steam room, a chiropractor, acupuncturist, massage therapist, IVs and things like that.”

Since being benched, Diggins has yet to play as she continues to rehab from the

In the 2024 offseason, Pagliocca attempted to lure free agents with the promise of a practice facility, with construction slated to begin in the fall of that year. Two of the most notable players to take meetings with the Sky were lifelong friends Nneka Ogwumike and Diggins. Like other top talents who were interested in the Sky, Ogwumike and Diggins ultimately opted for visible investment by signing with the Seattle Storm, whose ownership group already had the key to a $64 million state-of-the-art practice facility located 11 minutes from Climate Pledge Arena. Fast forward two years, and Chicago still awaits the completion of the nearby Bedford Park facility.

The Sky originally had a move-in date in December 2025, but it never happened. Last September, in front of the grounds of the would-be building, Sky co-owner and Operating Chairwoman Nadia Rawlinson said she was “confident” that the facility would be completed before the 2026 season. In a February statement, Sky president and CEO Adam Fox reiterated that the new facility would be available by early spring. Since then, numerous weather-related delays and alterations to the original blueprints have set the timeline back until 2027.

Training camp was held at UIC with the expectation that the facility would be ready in May. Instead, it was pushed back to June while the team made do with makeshift venues at Loyola in Rogers Park and Wintrust Arena in the South Loop. After a first half riddled with inconsistent messaging and communication, the Sky announced on July 17 that they would practice at Wintrust Arena for the remainder of the season.

WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson issued a statement criticizing the Sky's ownership for continued delays in opening the facility.

After firing Teresa Weatherspoon, Pagliocca hired Marsh away from the Las Vegas Aces, where the former assistant was heralded as a player development specialist. In his time as head coach in Chicago, Marsh’s efforts have had little to no effect on development. Like Weatherspoon, it was counterproductive to critique Marsh’s capabilities as a head coach and reduce them to one season with a roster built in the image of another. That was 2025, and this is a new season. The sound of the clock ticking away grows louder by the loss.

Marsh’s former colleague, Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, did the unthinkable last season, piloting the first expansion team to a WNBA-record 18 regular-season wins and the first to clinch a playoff berth during their inaugural season. With Nakase’s guidance and a new opportunity for players to find themselves, several saw career years across the board and earned generational wealth overnight due to the team’s success and individual production. Nakase built her rosters from scratch, and Marsh had the opportunity to shape the Sky in his vision. The only difference is the absence of development. With rapid investment and the staff to match, Golden State is now a legitimate championship contender in its second year of existence.

Before the season began, Pagliocca said that as long as he was the general manager of the Sky, the franchise would always be in “win-now” mode, which is what every decision-maker is supposed to say. However, Chicago is far from even resembling a championship contender, from the roster down to the staff. Losing Jackson to a season-ending injury was a massive blow to the momentum the team had built over four games, but bringing in a slew of veteran talent was supposed to offset a loss of this magnitude. Since Jackson went down, the team owns the second-worst record in the WNBA at 6-17.

There are a slew of deserving teams, but no organization deserves the biggest underachiever of the year award like the Phoenix Mercury.

Comparable to the Sparks, the Mercury attempted to build the get-rich-quick equivalent of a contender, as NBA teams do, by spending large sums in three consecutive free agency cycles on veteran talent in hopes of hoisting a championship. For his first act as general manager of the Mercury, Nick U’Ren signed veteran guard Natasha Cloud to a two-year, protected deal worth $400,000, adding the versatile 2019 WNBA champion to the backcourt with future Hall of Famers Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner.

U’Ren continued to spend in an attempt to build a contender by trading four picks, including a 2024 first-rounder (Kamilla Cardoso later selected), with Michaela Onyenwere and Morgan Bertsch to the Chicago Sky for All-Star wing Kahleah Copper. After a 19-21 season, U’Ren took another swing for the fences last season when he acquired All-Star forwards Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas in a four-team trade meant to launch the Mercury into instant contention, and it worked. With a bit of injury luck in 2025 semifinals, Phoenix reached the WNBA Finals before being the first team to be swept in the new seven-game format.

This offseason, U’Ren opted not to core Sabally, and she ultimately signed with the New York Liberty shortly after. In free agency, U’Ren signed a plethora of players with experience in Europe, but little in the WNBA to replace Sabally’s production by committee. By now, it is crystal clear that it has not panned out for the better. That decision alone still haunts a failure of a season that misses her ability to score and defend at a high level. Instead of aiming for a return to the Finals, Phoenix is just hoping a second-half push propel them into the playoffs, but sitting at 12th in the standings and are five games behind the Washington Mystics for the last playoff berth at the 8th seed.

According to The Athletic’s Annie Costabile, U’Ren was engaged in trade conversations centered around Thomas, but they have since “gone cold.” While a deal may not have been reached, it shows that U’Ren at least attempted to jumpstart a true rebuild by dealing his most valuable asset. Costabile reported that Dallas Wings forward Alanna Smith could possibly be a target ahead of the deadline.

The reigning Co-Defensive Player of the Year signed a three-year maximum contract worth $3.75 million in free agency, but has not seen much playing time this season due to injuries and falling out of the rotation. Smith is averaging 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while coming off the bench, and could be a difference-maker for Phoenix. In the same breath, continuing to spend resources on what is effectively a lemon of a campaign and not improving the team’s draft stock for the next two cycles could be disastrous for the immediate future of the organization.

When U’Ren hired Nate Tibbetts as the 12th head coach in franchise history, the decision drew widespread criticism. A longtime NBA assistant, Tibbetts arrived in the league with no experience in women’s basketball at any level. After two stops as a head coach of the Sioux Falls Skyforce and the Tulsa 66ers of the now-G-League, Tibbetts spent 12 years on an NBA bench across the league before making the jump to the WNBA.

U’Ren’s decison-making also came under fire due to the lack of Black women head coaches in a league they helped create. After U’Ren fired Vanessa Nygaard, former assistant and WNBA player Nikki Blue was promoted to interim head coach. Though the wins were few, it was clear that players like Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi enjoyed having Blue lead the team and the energy it showed was night and day compared to Nygaard’s tenue. Blue brought on longtime Arizona State women’s basketball legend Charli Turner Thorne, who Blue worked under before joining the Mercury, to serve as her assistant in a move that seemed to be a sign of good things to come as far as Blue eventually having the interim tag removed in the offseason.

Though U’Ren reiterated several times that Blue was interviewed for the permanent position, she was never seriously considered. Instead, he tapped a coach that has struggled to adjust to a league he knew little to nothing about previously in Tibbets. WNBA legend Kristi Tolliver may be the lead assistant in Phoenix, but the two-time champion was never interviewed for the head coaching spot, either. During a preseason game, Tibbetts looked back on his ejection during the Finals, lamenting on the fact that his behavior cost his team.

“I want to give hose coaches on my staff opportunities,” said Tibbetts after he let Tolliver take over as head coach in the second half. “Last year I got kicked out of a game in the Finals, and out that on [Tolliver], so I wanted to give her another opportunity.”

Essentially, Blue and Tolliver have basketball minds that are equipped to clean up the messes of coaches before them, but were not seen as viable long-term solutions on the sidelines. Less than three seasons into his contract, Tibbetts has proven to be the one who needs the experience and not the other way around.

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