CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky are riding the momentum of their thrilling 88-87 victory over the Indiana Fever. Chicago improved to 6-9 and moved into the eight-place spot in the WNBA standings. A large part of the Sky's success is due to the leadership of head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. Weatherspoon joined Chicago after a stint as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans. She also had a notable playing career with the New York Liberty. Weatherspoon gave an emotional and inspiring message after the Fever game when asked to reflect on her coaching journey.
Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon notes importance of giving back
“When you experience something in life, and as much as I've experienced in the game of basketball, the beautiful part of it for me is to give back,” Weatherspoon said during Sunday's postgame press conference. “You don't experience things to keep. You experience them to give them back. And it's emotional for me sometimes when I think about it. Because a group of young women is under my leadership. And it's my duty to make sure that they are the best version of themselves and that they live the life they want to live through the game of basketball. But most importantly, what they do off the floor.”
Teresa Weatherspoon values the importance of helping others, and her service with the Sky and past teams shows that.
Weatherspoon started her coaching career in 2007 as head coach of the Westchester Phantoms of the American Basketball Association. She then joined her alma mater Louisiana Tech in 2008, and the women's basketball team promoted her to head coach in 2009. Weatherspoon helped the Bulldogs to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011. In addition, she guided them to a Western Athletic Conference Tournament title (2010) and a WAC regular-season championship (2009, 2011). She bided her team after her LA Tech stint and eventually landed as a Pelicans development coach in 2019, where she remained until 2023.
Not long after her Pelicans tenure, Weatherspoon and the Sky expressed mutual interest in her becoming the team's head coach following James Wade's departure. The rest became history.
It was only natural to ask Weatherspoon who inspired her to emphasize the concept of giving back, given her emotional message.
“My mother and my father,” Weatherspoon said after Chicago's practice on Tuesday.
Weatherspoon said her parents taught her the value of being helpful to others. Their lessons are serving Weatherspoon well amid her first WNBA coaching stint.
Weatherspoon wants Chicago's players to keep developing themselves as people
Teresa Weatherspoon constantly speaks about getting to know her players as people and giving them a voice. As tough as she can be as a coach, Weatherspoon comes across as an empathic person. When the Sky made the tough decision to cut former Gonzaga guard Brynna Maxwell after 2024 training camp, Weatherspoon gave an eye-opening message.
“I love people,” an emotional Weatherspoon said on May 14th. “And how they feel means something to me. I let her know how much I respect who she is, how much I love the effort she gave. I have a lot of respect for the way she presented herself and conducted herself every single day as a professional. I have a great deal of respect for who Brynna Maxwell is.”
As the Sky continue their quest to make the WNBA Playoffs, Teresa Weatherspoon will continue to do all she can to develop her players as whole people.
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