Teresa Weatherspoon doesn’t want to dwell on the past.
That’s easy to say. Harder to execute. But as she embraces a new role with Unrivaled — a 3-on-3 league that will debut in January — the former Chicago Sky coach wants to focus on the future.
Weatherspoon will coach the Vinyl Basketball Club, an Unrivaled team that includes Arike Ogunbowale, Jordin Canada, Rhyne Howard, Rae Burrell, Aliyah Edwards and Dearica Hamby. The new gig is a welcome change for Weatherspoon, who felt blindsided when the Sky fired her Sept. 26 after only 11 months as coach.
Weatherspoon knew her debut season as a professional head coach wasn’t ideal. The Sky went 13-27, and Weatherspoon struggled to wrangle a young roster while navigating injuries and the midseason trade of guard Marina Mabrey. Despite the Sky missing the playoffs for the first time in five years, Weatherspoon thought she had more time with the organization.
She doesn’t want the firing to affect her confidence as a coach.
“I process things and I let it go,” Weatherspoon said Wednesday in a news conference. “You gotta know this and stand on it — you’re not for everybody. I’m okay with that. I know the things I did, I know the things I helped change. I know the things I had to go through and what I stood through. I will do that again — over and over and over.”
With Unrivaled, Weatherspoon will return to a player-development role. Although it is not officially affiliated with the WNBA, Unrivaled is focused on providing an offseason option for players to develop their game and supplement their income without going abroad. As a result, Unrivaled coaches will focus heavily on providing players with the offseason environment they typically seek from individual trainers and skills specialists.
Unrivaled co-founder Alex Bazzell previously described the decision to hire Weatherspoon as a “no-brainer” for the league. And Weatherspoon echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of feeling valued as a coach in the wake of her Sky exit.
“To know that you’re wanted and needed — it makes the decision to join very easy,” Weatherspoon said.
The Unrivaled season will begin in January and last only eight weeks. After that, the future is uncertain for Weatherspoon, who didn’t provide any hints about whether she will return to the WNBA: “That’s to be seen.”
Angel Reese will play with former Chicago Sky star Kahleah Copper in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league
After a whirlwind offseason that saw seven organizations fire or part ways with their coaches, the Dallas Wings, Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics are still searching for a replacement. Weatherspoon also could join the bench of an NBA or WNBA staff or return to college coaching.
In the meantime, Weatherspoon is eager to dive back into working hands-on with individual players to improve their craft with Unrivaled.
“It’s a human connection,” Weatherspoon said. “It’s a gift to connect with people and show concern and love for others. I just want people to win. I want everything I experience to be shared. I want to be of help, to give more. It’s important to lift and help. It’s all about my players. I want to lift things from them that they didn’t know existed.”
