On Monday (November 16), the New Orleans Pelicans announced Teresa Weatherspoon would be signing on a a full-time assistant coach.
Weatherspoon was promoted from a two-way player development coach by Pelicans head coach, Stan Van Gundy.
The historic move marks the eighth time a woman will be a full-time coach with the NBA. Weatherspoon joins other female NBA coaching colleagues Brittni Donaldson, Lindsay Gottlieb, Becky Hammon, Jenny Boucek, Lindsey Harding, Sonia Raman, and Natalie Nakase, according to ESPN.
Weatherspoon joins the Pelicans with a ton of experience on her own. The former WNBA star was also the coach for Louisiana Tech University’s Lady Techsters, with a six-season 99-71 record.
“I am excited about our coaching staff,” Van Gundy stated, “We have a great mix of background, experience, perspective, and expertise.”
Weatherspoon shared the announcement on her Instagram account in a celebratory post.
Before coaching at Louisiana Tech, Weatherspoon played there from 1984-1988 and led her team to earn a second NCAA title.
She continued playing basketball overseas after college, playing in France, Italy, and Russia, before returning to the US in 1997 to play for the New York Liberty for eight seasons.
Before her 2004 retirement, Weatherspoon played her final season in Los Angeles for the Sparks.
She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 after being named WNBA All-Star five times.
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