{"id":54110,"date":"2024-09-27T14:14:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T18:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=54110"},"modified":"2024-09-27T14:14:14","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T18:14:14","slug":"why-did-the-chicago-sky-fire-first-year-coach-teresa-weatherspoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/why-did-the-chicago-sky-fire-first-year-coach-teresa-weatherspoon\/54110\/","title":{"rendered":"Why did the Chicago Sky fire first-year coach Teresa Weatherspoon?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 2024 WNBA Playoffs are underway, but the Chicago Sky are already making headlines for a different reason: the team has fired coach Teresa Weatherspoon after just one season. This decision comes on the heels of a disappointing season that saw the Sky finish with a 13-27 record, leaving them third from the bottom of the league, just two games shy of a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why did the Chicago Sky fire first-year coach Teresa Weatherspoon?<\/h3>\n

While the Sky entered the season without high expectations\u2014especially after trading All-Star Kahleah Copper\u2014the team\u2019s performance significantly deteriorated throughout the year. They ended the season with a dismal 2-12 record over their last 14 games, struggling both with and without rookie sensation Angel Reese.<\/p>\n

Reese suffered a season-ending wrist injury in early September during a win against the Sparks, but the team was already on a downward spiral, having lost seven straight games prior to her injury. Despite the promise shown by Reese and fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso, who returned from a shoulder injury, the Sky could not find their footing. The team ranked 11th out of 12 in field goal percentage, relying heavily on their rebounding, largely due to Reese\u2019s league-leading 13.1 rebounds per game.<\/p>\n

With another highly-touted rookie expected to join in the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Sky are looking to turn a new leaf under a different coach who can help develop their young core into a competitive team.<\/p>\n

Angel Reese\u2019s Response<\/h3>\n

Reese took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her feelings about Weatherspoon\u2019s firing. Her heartfelt message conveyed a deep sense of loss, stating, \u201cI\u2019m heartbroken. I\u2019m literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life.\u201d She emphasized the challenging nature of Weatherspoon\u2019s job and acknowledged the bond they formed during their short time together.<\/p>\n

Reese, who emerged as a standout player for the Sky, noted, \u201cI came to Chicago because of YOU. You were an unsung hero in my life. We built a relationship in a short amount of time that will last forever.\u201d She strongly asserted that Weatherspoon \u201cdidn\u2019t deserve this,\u201d highlighting the positive impact the coach had on her career.<\/p>\n

While Weatherspoon\u2019s tenure was brief, her experience as a former NBA assistant and college head coach suggests she may find new opportunities in coaching. The Sky now face the challenge of hiring a new coach who can effectively harness the potential of their young talent and work towards building a more successful season in 2025. The decision to move forward without Weatherspoon marks a pivotal moment for the franchise as they seek to redefine their path in the WNBA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2024 WNBA Playoffs are underway, but the Chicago Sky are already making headlines for a different reason: the team\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":54111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[3833,18728],"class_list":["post-54110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","tag-angel-reese","tag-teresa-weatherspoon"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}