Fresh off an induction into Springfield, New York Liberty legend Teresa Weatherspoon will join fellow MSG alumna Becky Hammon in the NBA.
Teresa Weatherspoon already has countless prestigious titles on her expansive basketball resume. She added one more on Thursday.
The New York Liberty All-Star and staffer was named to the coaching staff of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. She becomes the 10th woman to earn such an assistant coach spot in the NBA.
Pelicans add AJ Diggs and Naismith Hall of Fame Inductee Teresa Weatherspoon to coaching staff
Story: https://t.co/IMaHRINMue#WBD pic.twitter.com/aiudbQsyMO
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) September 26, 2019
Weatherspoon’s official title is “two-way player development coach”. According to the Pelicans’ official website, Weatherspoon will “will work closely with the team’s two-way players and will accompany them to and from their transfers to the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks”.
G League alum AJ Diggs was also named to the same position.
“I am thrilled to welcome and AJ and Teresa to our coaching staff here in New Orleans,” said New Orleans head coach Alvin Gentry told Pelicans.comer. “As we continue to put an increased emphasis on player development, AJ and Teresa will play an integral role with our younger players and will be a huge asset to our players and staff both here in New Orleans and Erie.”
Weatherspoon, 53, is best known for her exploits in New York. An accomplished player internationally, Weatherspoon was an original member of the Liberty during their 1997 debut. She would play seven years in New York, departing as the franchise’s all-time leader in assists (1,306) and steals (453). Among her countless on-court accolades are two WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards (1997-98) and an Olympic gold medal earned in 1988’s Summer Games in Seoul. The WNBA named her to both of their commemorative anniversary teams in 2011 and 2016.
Weatherspoon is also responsible for arguably the most famous moment in WNBA history. Known simply as “The Shot,” her heave from beyond halfcourt gave the Liberty a victory in Game 2 of the 1999 WNBA Finals.
Previous coaching experience for Weatherspoon includes a six-year head coaching stint at her alma mater of Louisiana Tech. She earned a 99-71 record, including a 56-32 mark in conference play. As a player, Weatherspoon led the Lady Techsters to the 1988 NCAA Tournament title.
Weatherspoon was also the head coach of the Westchester Phantoms of the American Basketball Association. Over the past four years, Weatherspoon was the Liberty’s Director of Franchise and Player Development and was a constant prescience on the New York bench on game day.
Liberty alumnae are well represented in the NBA. Weatherspoon becomes the second ex-New Yorker to be added to the Pelicans this offseason. Swin Cash, also a former player and staffer, was named the team’s Vice President of Basketball Operations and Team Development in June.
Elsewhere, Becky Hammon continues to serve as one of Gregg Popovich’s assistants in San Antonio. Hammon, a fellow inductee in the Liberty’s Ring of Honor, guided the Spurs’ Summer League team to a title as a head coach in 2015.
Weatherspoon could possibly return to New York on Oct. 18. The Pelicans are set to visit her former stomping grounds of Madison Square Garden for a preseason game against the Knicks. Erie opens their season on Nov. 8.
