Liberty center Stefanie Dolson ‘excited’ about former team signing Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon as HC

Stefanie Dolson is currently concluding her second season with the Liberty, as they strive to secure the 2023 WNBA championship. However, the attention this week has been on her former team, the Chicago Sky.

A few months ago, coach James Wade unexpectedly left Chicago and joined the NBA’s Toronto Raptors as an assistant. This week, the Sky appointed Hall of Famer and former Liberty guard Teresa Weatherspoon as their new coach, as reported by the Athletic on Tuesday.

What can Weatherspoon bring to a Chicago Sky team that ended the regular season with a record of 18-22 and experienced an early exit from the playoffs?

“Everything,” replied Dolson before Game 2 of the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces. “I’m thrilled for her and for the Chicago Sky.”

After working as an assistant coach with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans from 2020-23, Weatherspoon will now lead the Sky. Prior to that, she served as the head coach at her alma mater, Louisiana Tech, from 2009-2014. She played eight seasons in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks and the Liberty, earning All-Star honors all five times as a member of the Liberty. She was also named to the league’s 15th Anniversary Team in 2011 and 20th Anniversary Team in 2016.

Weatherspoon is now the sixth WNBA head coach who was a former player, joining the likes of New York’s Sandy Brondello and Las Vegas’ Becky Hammon, both of whom are leading their teams in the 2023 Finals.

Dolson stated that she has had some interactions with Weatherspoon during her time with the Liberty, emphasizing the coach’s “intensity,” “knowledge about the game,” and “experience.”

“Former players,” Dolson stated, “make some of the best coaches because they possess that playing experience and understand the needs and desires of the players.”