Teresa Weatherspoon

Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon (born December 8, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Vinyl BC of the Unrivaled basketball league. She was previously the head coach of the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA and served as the head basketball coach of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. Weatherspoon was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. In 2016, Weatherspoon was chosen to the WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.

Professional career Born in Pineland, Texas, Weatherspoon was a health and physical education major and star basketball player at Louisiana Tech. In 1988, her senior season, she led the Lady Techsters to the NCAA national title. After college, Weatherspoon played overseas in Italy, France and Russia for 8 years.

WNBA In 1997, Weatherspoon became one of the original players of the WNBA when she joined the New York Liberty for the league's inaugural season. Her debut game, a 67–57 win over the Los Angeles Sparks, was played on June 21, 1997. In that game Weatherspoon recorded 3 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists (the first player in WNBA history to record double-digit assists in a game). A talented ball-handler and charismatic leader, her energetic play quickly endeared her to the fans and media in New York. The Liberty reached the first WNBA finals, but fell short to the Houston Comets. Weatherspoon was the first winner of the league's Defensive Player of the Year Award.

The Liberty finished the 1998 season 18 - 12 behind Weatherspoon's averages of 6.8 points, 4 rebounds and 6.4 assists. However, the team missed the playoffs. Weatherspoon would win the Defensive Player of the Year Award again in 1998 becoming the first back to back recipient of the award.

Having a similar productive season with the Liberty in 1999 (in addition to being selected as a 1999 All-Star), Weatherspoon and the team were able to make it back to the Finals with an 18 - 14 record. During the 1999 WNBA Finals, Weatherspoon had one of the most memorable feats in WNBA history; in Game 2 on September 4, 1999, the Liberty were down 67–65 against the Houston Comets with no timeouts left and 2.4 seconds left on the game clock after a shot made by Tina Thompson. After receiving the inbound pass, Weatherspoon dribbled the ball up to half court and made a game-winning shot 50 feet away from the basket to force a Game 3. That moment would later be referred to as "The Shot".

Weatherspoon made the All-Star Team every year from 2000-2003, maintaining a high level of scoring and rebounding productivity and earning a reputation for toughness and reliability. The Liberty would make the Finals in 2000 and 2002 (the team's fourth appearances with Weatherspoon) but lost the Finals both times, being swept by the Comets in 2000 and swept by the Sparks in 2002.

The 2003 season would be the first time the Liberty had a losing record, as they finished the season 16 - 18 and missed the playoffs for only the 2nd time in 6 years.

Weatherspoon had the distinction of being the only WNBA player to start every one of her games until the 2004 season. From 1997 to 2003, she played in 220 games and started in every one of them.

Weatherspoon signed with the Sparks on February 4, 2004. Her time with the Sparks saw a change in Weatherspoon's role, as she came off the bench for the first time in her career and played an average of only 8.6 minutes per game (after averaging 31.1 with the Liberty). The Sparks finished 25 - 9 but were eliminated in the first round of the 2004 playoffs.

Weatherspoon's final WNBA game ever was Game 2 of the 2004 Western Conference First Round on September 26, 2004, against the Sacramento Monarchs. The Sparks won the game 71 – 57 and evened the series 1 – 1 with Weatherspoon recording 2 rebounds in 3 minutes. However, Weatherspoon did not play in Game 3 and the Sparks lost that game 58 – 73 and were eliminated from the playoffs. After her 2004 season with the Sparks, Weatherspoon retired.

Coaching career Westchester Phantoms (2007-2008) In 2007 Weatherspoon was the head coach of the Westchester Phantoms of the American Basketball Association.

Louisiana Tech (2008-2014) In April 2008 she joined the coaching staff of the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech. On February 9, 2009, she was promoted to interim head coach to replace former head coach Chris Long. April 2, 2009 saw Louisiana Tech shed the interim label and name Teresa head women's basketball coach. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the fifteen-year history of the WNBA. In 2016, Weatherspoon was named in the WNBA Top 20@20.

New Orleans Pelicans (2019–2023) On September 26, 2019, Weatherspoon was named two-way player development coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. Weatherspoon was later promoted to a full-time assistant coach for the Pelicans on November 16, 2020. The Pelicans released Weatherspoon from the coaching staff in June 2023.

Chicago Sky (2023-2024) On October 12, 2023, Weatherspoon was hired to be the Head Coach of the Chicago Sky of the WNBA.

On September 26, 2024, after the Sky failed to make the playoffs, Weatherspoon was fired. Sky player Angel Reese posted on social media that she was "heartbroken" at the news, saying that Weatherspoon "was the only person that believed in me. The one that trusted me," and calling her an "unsung hero" in Reese's life.

Unrivaled (2025–present) On November 15, 2024, Weatherspoon was announced to be one of the six new head coaches of the Unrivaled basketball league.

National team career Weatherspoon was selected to represent the US at the inaugural Goodwill games, held in Moscow in July 1986. North Carolina State's Kay Yow served as head coach. The team opened up with a 72–53 of Yugoslavia, and followed that with a 21-point win over Brazil 91–70. The third game was against Czechoslovakia and would be much closer, ending in a 78–70 victory. The USA faced Bulgaria in the semi-final match up, and again won, this time 67–58. This set up the final against the Soviet Union, led by 7-foot-2 Ivilana Semenova, considered the most dominant player in the world. The Soviet team, had a 152–2 record in major international competition over the prior three decades, including an 84–82 win over the US in the 1983 World Championships. The Soviets held the early edge, leading 21–19 at one time, before the USA went on a scoring run to take a large lead they would never relinquish. The final score was 83–60 in favor of the US, earning the gold medal for the USA squad. For the entire event, Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon averaged 1.6 points per game.

Career statistics

WNBA WNBA record

Regular season

Playoffs

College Source

Awards and honors As a basketball player: 1986 World Championships Gold Medalist (with Team USA) 1986 Goodwill Games Gold Medalist (with Team USA) 1987 World University Games Gold Medalist (with Team USA) 1988 Olympic Games Gold Medalist (with Team USA) 1988 Wade Trophy 1988 Honda-Broderick Cup winner for all sports 2010 Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2010 2010 Inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame 2011 Inducted into the New York Liberty Ring of Honor 2011 Named one of top 15 WNBA Players of All-Time 2019 Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

As head coach of Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters: 2009 WAC Regular Season Champions 2009 WNIT Second Round 2010 WAC Tournament Champions 2010 NCAA Tournament 2010 Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year