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WNBA Confidential: A’ja Wilson? Caitlin Clark? GMs make player pick in our anonymous poll
As the WNBA reaches the conclusion of its 27th season, its stakeholders have a variety of opinions on how to continue growing the game — and growing the league. Within the past decade alone, it has cycled through multiple collective bargaining agreements and even more playoff formats with the hopes of improving the business of the WNBA and its player experience, but more work remains to be done.
The Athletic surveyed the league’s general managers, who are most often the top basketball executives on their teams, to get their thoughts on broad WNBA issues. The topics included which players and coaches are worth building around, rule changes they’d want to see, and the always-interesting question of expansion. All 12 general managers were asked to participate in the exercise while being granted anonymity so that they could speak freely, and nine took part. Of those nine, some declined to answer specific questions, but this is still a comprehensive look at how the league’s foremost decision-makers think about the present and future of the WNBA.
Arguably the most important task facing any general manager is constructing a roster, and the key to a competitive team in the WNBA is having at least one franchise-altering talent to build around. In the words of one executive, “someone that is a unicorn, and I think we got a couple in our league.” It’s clear that most general managers would have picked someone from their own organization had we not added the qualifier — and deservedly so!
For reference, this is how WNBA players responded when asked in our recent anonymous player poll to pick who the best player in the league will be in five years. It’s clear that some GMs were thinking of the future with their selection of Caitlin Clark.
Here is how the eight GMs who answered the question explained their selections:
A’ja Wilson
“Two years younger than Stewie and one of the best two players in the world right now, probably.”
“She is a consistently available (from a health standpoint) superstar that significantly impacts winning. She continues to add to her game and gets better year-over-year.”
Chelsea Gray
“She’s our Olympic point guard. She’s big. She’s strong. I like a big guard. Love her versatility. She can play the one, the two, the three. She can guard the four if you need her to.”
Defenders have different responsibilities across positions, making it challenging to focus on an individual player. And sometimes defensive stats can be deceptive because, in the words of one general manager, teams will try to avoid involving great defenders by running actions that instead target weaker matchups.
A’ja Wilson was named the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, her second consecutive season earning that honor. That award was voted on by the media, however, and the WNBA’s general managers seem to have a greater fondness for perimeter players than the voting body that selected no guards for second-team All-Defense. This year’s DPOY still made the general managers’ list, and she’s joined by two other first-team All-Defense selections, along with a very popular snub.
Brittney Sykes
“I think she’s tenacious. I think she’s super athletic. I think her athleticism allows her to guard bigger players, but her quickness allows her to guard smaller players. I think she’s very versatile.”
“When she’s locked in, she can do as good a job as anybody in our league at minimizing what the best guard on the other team can do.”
Natasha Cloud
“She is tough. She is relentless. She is physical. She takes a hit. She gives a hit. I like that kind of toughness.”
Alyssa Thomas
“When I think of the player that makes the greatest impact, it’s probably Alyssa Thomas. I just think of her physicality and how uncomfortable she can make people in transition and in the half court.”
Who in the league would make for a great new head coach?
More than half of the WNBA’s 12 teams have now entered the offseason, with eight franchises already confronting the reality that next year’s rosters will look different. Two teams, the Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky, have yet to hire a full-time coach, and it’s possible that more sideline opportunities will open up. We asked general managers for who currently in the league, who has not been a head coach and is not on your team’s staff, they think would be a great head coach. Though we asked for a single name, many general managers tossed out multiple candidates, serving some names to watch this winter and for seasons to come.
Chris Koclanes was one of the two most common responses with three GMs tossing out his name. It should be noted our conversations took place before USC women’s basketball announced it had hired him as an assistant on Tuesday, after he had worked eight seasons in the WNBA. Koclanes most recently served as an assistant with the Sparks. He followed Curt Miller to Los Angeles, after spending seven seasons with Miller and the Connecticut Sun. Koclanes has a good deal of play-calling responsibilities, and multiple general managers noted the authority he had been given under Miller. “I think Curt has given him a lot of autonomy,” one said. Added another: “They kind of zoom in on him when he’s drawing up end of quarters or whatever for his team, so I think it’s really great that he’s gotten that space to show off his talents in the coaching way.”
Briann January, a current assistant coach for the Sun, was also mentioned three times. Although January is still in her first season as a WNBA assistant, one general manager said, “She really has that leadership, I think, that she could be a great head coach.” Another praised her leadership as well, saying, “I think that experience as a player will garner the respect of our players when she gets a head coach opportunity.”
A number of other former WNBA players came up in conversation, including Karima Christmas-Kelly (Indiana Fever) and LaToya Sanders (Washington Mystics). By season’s end, six current head coaches had been former WNBA players, with every team having at least one former player on its coaching staff, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see more former players receive coaching opportunities in the future.
Another general manager said Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Natalie Nakase could also be in-line for a head coaching position after success with the reigning champions and in the NBA. Liberty assistant coach Olaf Lange was also mentioned as a possible candidate for future openings because of his experience not only in the WNBA, but also internationally. Shelley Patterson, a current assistant with the Washington Mystics, has more than 20 years of experience in the WNBA, having worked for more than a half-dozen franchises, and has been, as one general manager put it, “overlooked” for jobs in the past.
And although The Athletic’s prompt was geared to possible first-time candidates who are currently in the WNBA, two general managers mentioned current Indiana Pacers assistant coach Jenny Bouceck as another to watch. A former WNBA player, Bouceck has previously been a head coach with the Seattle Storm and Sacramento Monarchs. Katie Smith, a current assistant with the Minnesota Lynx, was also mentioned by two GMs. “She was a head coach in New York during a very tough time for that franchise,” one said, “as they were going through an ownership change, so I think Katie deserves another shot.” Pokey Chatman, an assistant with the Seattle Storm, was another former head coach who a general manager said deserved a mention.
Editor’s note: The WNBA Confidential series is part of a partnership with Michelob ULTRA. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
