WNBA: Ought to Fever’s Stephanie White be Coach of the Yr frontrunner?

Coach of the Yr winners normally fall into one, or a number of, of some classes:

• Coaches that lead a crew to a dominant, league-leading report
• New coaches that enhance drastically upon a earlier 12 months’s win share
• Coaches that take a roster that’s usually perceived as sub-par to a formidable playoff seeding.

With these tendencies in thoughts, which WNBA head coaches are the frontrunners to be named the 2025 Coach of the Yr?

Stephanie White (Indiana Fever)

The Indiana Fever made noise this offseason after firing Christie Sides and poaching Stephanie White, who coached the Fever from 2015 to 2016, from the Connecticut Solar. White will likely be gaining an abundance of expertise in comparison with the scraps left in Mohegan Solar, and will presumably test off two packing containers in her candidacy for Coach of the Yr. She is, and needs to be, the favourite for the award.

It’s not on a regular basis {that a} well-established coach finds a brand new crew with well-established expertise, and the 2 make for fairly a concoction. Not solely may White enhance considerably upon the Fever’s .500 report final season, she may very nicely lead the crew to a prime three-seed within the league—a feat that not many coaches accomplish of their first 12 months with a crew. She’ll be vastly assisted by the expansion of Fever stars Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, in addition to the acquainted face of DeWanna Bonner and the brand new additions of Natasha Howard and Sophie Cunningham (who could also be sidelined at the start of the season after sustaining a foot harm on Saturday). If the start of White’s tenure performs out as anticipated, it is going to be arduous to outpace her for the award.

Becky Hammon (Las Vegas Aces)

Photograph by Ethan Miller/Getty Photographs

Naismith Basketball Corridor of Famer Becky Hammon is not any stranger to {hardware}, having received two championships and one Coach of the Yr award in her three seasons as a WNBA head coach.

After a 13-loss down 12 months for the Aces in 2025, Hammon has retooled her roster to take one other stab at a championship. Jewell Loyd is taking the place of Kelsey Plum, and as a lot as has been made about Loyd’s offensive profile, Hammon could also be happiest about her defensive capabilities compared to Plum’s skillset. If you happen to’ve ever tuned right into a Becky Hammon postgame interview, you know the way a lot she cares about protection. Hammon will in all probability want the Aces to eclipse 30 wins this 12 months to be a real frontrunner for the award, however you’ll be able to by no means depend her out.

Sandy Brondello (New York Liberty)

Photograph by Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Photographs

Sandy Brondello, like Hammon, will likely be banking on a historic season because the spine of her award resume. If she’s simply like Hammon, she is likely to be in for a deal with. Though Hammon didn’t win Coach of the Yr for Las Vegas’ first post-championship season, she set a WNBA report with 34 regular-season wins.

Coming off the primary championship in franchise historical past, the Liberty will likely be trying to make their mark with some regular-season historical past. After buying Natasha Cloud and returning Marine Johannès to bolster their backcourt, they might very nicely enhance upon final 12 months’s 32 wins. Brondello received the award over a decade in the past after a championship marketing campaign in Phoenix, and will add one other to her trophy case pending the Liberty’s success.

Karl Smesko (Atlanta Dream)

Photograph by Andrew J. Clark/ISI Images/Getty Photographs

“Smesko-ball” is alive in Atlanta. Karl Smesko, the previous head coach of FGCU who received 15 convention championships, 479 video games (in comparison with solely 91 losses) and 13 A-Solar Coach of the Yr Awards in his 18 years as a school coach, is bringing his patented offensive technique with him to the Dream: 3s, 3s and extra 3s.

I needed to incorporate one “darkish horse” candidate for the award, and a notable enchancment upon the Dream’s 15-25 report appears not solely potential, however doubtless. They had been backside three within the WNBA in 3-point makes an attempt, makes and share final 12 months, ending final within the league in factors per recreation. Over their two preseason video games, the Dream try nearly 38 3s per recreation, 18 greater than final season. 38 3s an evening would additionally clear final 12 months’s league-leading taking pictures crew, the Liberty, who tried 29 per recreation.

Smesko has an id, a proficient roster and a canvas to enhance vastly upon final 12 months’s win whole. If issues begin to click on in Atlanta, Smesko may work his manner into the Coach of the Yr dialog shortly. If you happen to’re trying to financial institution on one of many rookie head coaches, he is likely to be your greatest guess.