rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
Teresa Weatherspoon coached the Chicago Sky for the 2024 WNBA season, before being fired in the offseason for new head coach Tyler Marsh. The firing came after the Sky missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018, finishing the regular season with a 13-27 win-loss record.
On Wednesday, talking to the “Good Follow” hosted by Ros Gold-Onwude and Logan Hackett, Weatherspoon admitted that she was hurt about her dismissal as head coach, before commending those who came to her to show appreciation, including Sky superstar Angel Reese, who finished last year as runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award.
“I think everyone tends to think about what happened in Chicago. You know, I’m the first one to say I was shocked, surprised, hurt, I was all of those things because I didn’t see it coming. Didn’t see it coming at all,” she said. (From 16:20)
Weatherspoon then continued to show her admiration for Reese, who spoke about her relationship with her former coach in an episode of the “Unapologetically Angel” in January.
“When you speak about the support that I’ve been given, the love that has been shown, the mad love that has been shown, and you talk about Angel hitting the platform and speaking up about how it was for me and what our relationship is like. It meant everything,” the coach said.
“When you have someone to stand with who she is and uses her platform and stand the way that she did. It meant everything to me, to my career, to what I’ve worked so hard for,” she added
The Sky’s 2024 WNBA season saw numerous struggles despite the brilliant performances of Reese, who missed the latter part of the season due to a season-ending wrist injury, which also hurt the team’s playoff hopes.
Teresa Weatherspoon was the Sky’s third coach since winning the WNBA title in 2021.
Angel Reese “heartbroken” after Teresa Weatherspoon’s firing
Despite sharing just one season, Angel Reese has built a strong bond with her former head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. The former Sky coach drafted Reese seventh overall in the 2024 WNBA draft, before integrating her as one of the leaders in the team despite being a rookie.
Reese talked about how Weatherspoon’s firing affected her in an episode of the “Unapologetically Angel” podcast on Jan. 22.
“I was so heartbroken,” Reese said. “She understood me…I’m big on relationships and she knew what was best for me and the team.”
Weatherspoon allowed Reese to play her game and carry over her interior dominance from college to the WNBA. Reese averaged a double-double of 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game in her first year in the league.
Without Teresa Weatherspoon next season, the Sky is expected to have a systemic change with the integration of new coach Tyler Marsh.
Quick Links
More from Sportskeeda
Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.
