Natalie Nakase just won the Coach of the Year this season. Stephanie White took the Indiana Fever to the semifinals. And remember, the Fever squad missed the likes of Sophie Cunningham, Caitlin Clark, Sydney Colson, and Aari McDonald.
Well, there’s more. After all, who can forget Becky Hammon’s incredible coaching IQ that led the Aces to win the WNBA title this year? Surely, it is evident that female coaches have been doing a superb job in managing WNBA teams.
Yet, this year, a lot of teams have been following the NBA model. With the market for female coaches seemingly getting thin, Candace Parker does not seem to be happy at all.
Candace Parker Has One Big Worry About WNBA Coaches
As the WNBA continues to grow, the franchises are looking to maximize their performance in each season. And this particular trend has driven them to follow the NBA. More and more former NBA assistants are being considered for the head Coach position in the WNBA.
Speaking about how the opportunities for female coaches are declining, Parker, in her ‘Post Moves’ podcast, said, “But the problem that I have is a lot of the coaches that are going to come from the NBA are not going to be women. In a league that is all women, I think that the coaching positions are kind of going back to men.”
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She further termed the WNBA as a ‘copycat’ league. While the WNBA legend admitted that teams must appoint the best coaches, all the positions cannot go to the NBA. Meanwhile, despite her concerns, the stats might make her feel a little bit at ease.
Should Candace Parker Be Really Concerned?
In recent times, the likes of Hammon have seemingly blown up the exposure for female coaches. Following Aces’ triumph, Tom Brady heaped praises on Hammon’s coaching skills.
Yet, Parker’s concerns do have some merit. In recent times, expansion team Portland Fire chose Alex Sarama as their new head coach. Incidentally, Sarama was appointed as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ player development coach.
And that’s not all. The Dallas Wings have also been rumored to bring in Jose Fernandez. Still, looking at the ratio, back in 2025, there were seven female and six male head coaches managing the 13 teams.
Thus, with Parker showing concerns, the new trend does not feel threatening as of now. However, it will be interesting to keep an eye on how things go in the future.