Top 5 Highest-Paid WNBA Coaches and Their Salaries in 2024

A coaching mindset embodies a fresh approach to leadership, prioritizing the empowerment of individuals and teams over mere directive commands in WNBA. It entails posing impactful inquiries, engaging in active listening, and offering immediate assistance to aid players in breaking through opponent’s defense formations and realizing their potential.

However, the WNBA has been evolving a lot, with attendance growing exponentially by almost a third of its former attendance. Especially in 2024, with players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, the stakes have gone high for the players as well as the coaches. However, the higher stakes have been a concern for the coaches in the WNBA as well. Reportedly, according to CBS, out of the 13 teams from the WNBA, seven franchises have parted ways with their league coaches in the last month.

So, as the WNBA landscape is changing a lot, the coaches’ jobs are also in trouble. Only Nate Tibbetts of the Phoenix Mercury has been lucky enough to lead a team with a consistent losing record and the highest salary in the WNBA. So, let’s check out the top coaches in WNBA who earn handsome money and go through their output on the court along with their fellow players.

Who Is the Highest-Paid WNBA Coach in 2024?

The WNBA community is for sure evolving, but in terms of payout, the WNBA coaches are still far behind their NBA counterparts. With NBA coaches like Steve Kerr earning $17.5 million per season, the highest-paid coach in WNBA still has a salary just north of $1 million in the female-dominated league. As per Front Office Sports, the highest-paid WNBA coach in 2024 is Nate Tibbetts of the Phoenix Mercury.

Nate Tibbetts Career

Hailing from Jefferson, South Dakota, Nate Tibbetts was a basketball player from the start. A 6’1″ point guard like him was an asset to the Roosevelt High School team. As soon as he passed high school and then graduated from the University of South Dakota, he chose the path of teaching the game rather than playing it further. The first step in his career as a coach was the role of assistant coach at the Sioux Falls Cougars’ basketball team.

As the year 2005 hit, Nate hit big in his coaching career as he was appointed as the assistant coach for the Miami Heat’s NBA G League affiliate, Sioux Falls Skyforce. Nate gained the pro league experience there for about four years and then took an upgrade by becoming the head coach of the Tulsa 66ers. For those who don’t know, it was the NBA G-League affiliate team of Oklahoma City Thunder. However, in 2014, the team relocated again to Oklahoma and retained the name of Oklahoma City Blue.

Nate Tibbetts set the record for 64 wins in a season for that G-League team and ultimately earned a place in playoffs in his years with the 66ers. However, in 2011, Nate decided to up his game and joined as the head coach of Team USA at the Pan American Games. From there on, he took on the shadow roles of assistant coach and associate head coach at the Cleveland Cavaliers(2011-13), Portland Trail Blazers(2013-21), then with Orlando Magic(2021-23).

In October 2023, he decided to turn the page from the assistant position and announced his new role as head coach for the Phoenix Mercury team in WNBA.

Nate Tibbetts Salary

Reportedly, Nate Tibbetts is set to earn about $1.2 million dollars per year as the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA. However, the management of the respective team has not disclosed the details regarding the extension of the contract or the duration of the deal. However, for now, one thing is for sure: the Phoenix team has put their trust in Nate to lead their player to the WNBA title victory. However, in the 2024 season, the Phoenix Mercury finished the season with a disappointing 19 wins and 21 losses, the seventh place in the Western Conference.

Top 5 Highest-Paid WNBA Coaches and Their Salaries

Before moving ahead with their career profile and the respective amounts that WNBA coaches charge as salary for their role, let’s take a brief look at the coaches who top the chart in 2024 as coaches of WNBA franchises.

Nate Tibbetts

As mentioned above, Nate Tibbetts has been on a roll since his assistant role at the Orlando Magic. However, Nate is rather a humble prospect to the league rather than boasting his status as a new head coach for the Phoenix Mercury. Well, the situation was complex for the new Phoenix coach since the WNBA community was disappointed with the move of skipping Nikki Blue to hire Nate as the head coach.

The WNBA community rather prefers a black woman to one who has little experience in the woman-dominated league. Nevertheless, Nate Tibbetts took the criticism in a fair manner and said that he was “all in” for the requested role in October 2023, as per The Next. Though Nate admitted that he lacked WNBA knowledge, he had a plan to execute and had faith in the Phoenix players to execute it on the hard court.

Becky Hammon

Las Vegas Aces Becky Hammon has been one of the most legendary figures of the WNBA community who not only just played 16 seasons in the league but also made a name for herself in the NBA as well as the WNBA coaching room. After playing 16 seasons in the WNBA, legendary NBA coach Gregg Popovich hired Becky as the full-time assistant for the San Antonio Spurs. She was one of her kind to achieve this marvelous feat. However, the magic was yet to unfold.

As per WNBA data, in the 2015 NBA Summer League, she acted as head coach for the Spurs, leading to the Summer League title. The steak continued, and she acted as head coach in 2020 on December 30 when Gregg was ejected from the court during the game between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Sparks in the NBA. Later, on New Year’s Eve in 2021, the Las Vegas Aces management hired Becky as a head coach. And then she etched the history with her memorable work.

Notable Achievements:

• Head Coach for the Las Vegas Aces: In 2021, Hammon became the first Russian head coach in WNBA history for the Las Vegas Aces.
• 2022 WNBA Championship: The Aces won the WNBA Championship in 2022 with their first-year head coach, making him the first rookie coach to do so.
• 2023 WNBA Championship: The Aces won the 2023 WNBA Championship again, with the first coach in 20 years to achieve back-to-back WNBA titles: Hammon.
• WNBA Coach of The Year: She was named WNBA Coach of the Year in her rookie season as head coach, making her the first ex-WNBA player to win the award in her inaugural season.

Curt Miller

Curt Miller has delivered exceedingly well on the court as a coach for two teams of the WNBA league, the Connecticut Sun and the Los Angeles Sparks. His Connecticut Sun stint was from 2016 to 2022, where he also worked as General manager along with the head coach role. His team even made it to the postseason six times and then took them to the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2022. After his almost impeccable record as a coach, he was then asked to revitalize a shattered team, the Los Angeles Sparks.

However, Curt could not piece them together as they missed both of the playoffs under Curt Miller’s guidance in 2023 and 2024.

Notable Achievements:

• Curt Miller was the Connecticut Sun head coach from 2016 until 2022.
• The WNBA Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2021 is consistent at winning the title twice, and through it, Curt made it to the top tier salary.
• Miller has helped the Sun make the playoffs several times and took them to the 2019 and 2022 WNBA Finals as well.

Cheryl Reeve

One of the most decorated coaches in the WNBA league, Cheryl Reeve, is an international sensation when it comes to the basketball coaching department. She also led the Team USA women’s basketball team to gold during the Summer Olympics in Paris this year. Before her stint as WNBA Coach, Cheryl served as head coach at Indiana State University for five years after serving for the same duration at George Washington University. Overall, Cheryl Reeve’s collegiate coaching experience was 12 years, including her experience at her alma mater.

From 2001, Cheryl spent his initial nine seasons with Charlotte Sting, Cleveland, and Detroit Shock, respectively. Later on, she joined Minnesota Lynx as head coach and has served the responsibility since then for about 14 years.

Notable Achievements:

• 4x WNBA Coach of the Year: Reeve has won the WNBA Coach of the Year award four times in 2011, 2016, 2020, and 2024. She is the first coach in WNBA history to win the award four times. 
• WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year: Cheryl Reeve has won the WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year award twice in 2019 and 2024. 
• WNBA championships: Reeve has coached the Minnesota Lynx to four WNBA championships in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. 
• WNBA Commissioner’s Cup: Reeve led the Lynx to the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup in 2024. 
• WNBA All-Star Game coach: Reeve has coached the Lynx in the WNBA All-Star Game four times in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2024. 
• WNBA winning percentage: Reeve has the highest winning percentage in WNBA history. 
• WNBA games won: Reeve has won the most games of any female coach in WNBA history. 
• WNBA postseason games won: Reeve has won the most postseason games of any coach in WNBA history. 
• FIBA World Cup: Reeve led the USA women’s basketball team to victory at the 2022 FIBA World Cup. 
• Olympic gold medals: Reeve won two Olympic gold medals as an assistant coach for USA Basketball in 2016 and 2020. 

Sandy Brondello

Sandy Brondello started her coaching career with San Antonio Silver Stars in the league for five seasons from 2005 as an assistant. However, in 2010, she got the head coach role with Silver Stars, and after a year, she left the role and assisted Los Angeles Sparks head coach from 2011-2013. Eventually, she got her destination as the Phoenix Mercury head coach in 2014 and served it until 2021.

The dynamics changed a few years later, after which Sandy joined hands with New York Liberty in 2022. She earned them a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup in 2022 and has been striving for better while working in that role.

Notable Achievements:

• 2-time WNBA Champion: She guided the Phoenix Mercury to WNBA titles in 2014 and 2024.
• Coach of the Year: In 2014, she was named as the number one coach in WNBA and Coach of the Year award winner.
• Commissioner’s Cup winner (2023): She led the New York Liberty to win the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup.

Christie Sides

After going through various career fluctuations from 2011, Christie Sides finally stabilized after taking on the role of assistant head coach of Atlanta Dream in 2022. Afterward, she joined Indiana Fever last year and has been training one of the best rookies in the WNBA right now. She joined Seattle Storm coach Pokey Chatman at LSU, and from thereon, she moved on to the Chicago Sky as an assistant coach for six years.

In the final fluctuation of her coaching career at WNBA, she joined Indiana Fever from 2017-19 as an assistant to join Chatman. For this job, she had even left her NCAA-level job. Now, she is among the best-earning coaches in the WNBA and has one of the best prospects.

Notable Achievements:

She led the Indiana Fever to playoffs in 2023, the first one after their 2016 appearance.

Eric Thibault

Eric Thibault has been a phenomenal coach who has taken on the responsibility of his father of a coach. Notably, he assisted his father, Mike Thibault, in the head coaching department at the Washington Mystics. He had also been interim head coach for the Mystics for five games, according to Mystics’ official site. However, ultimately, he decided to take on the lead role himself and create a legacy for himself. That’s why the Mystics management appointed Eric Thibault as head coach on November 15, 2022.

Surprisingly, Eric also had a little connection with the WNBA league while working as an assistant staff for the Connecticut Sun before picking up the job at the Mystics. After spending so much time in the league, he is earning a fortune of about $500K in the league.

Notable Achievements:

• 2019 WNBA Championship: He played a crucial role when the Mystics had that victorious season.
• He has coached the Mystics through several playoff runs, so it is apparent that he, indeed, really has a feel for properly preparing his team for this time of year.

Conclusion: The Impact of Salary on Coaching Careers in the WNBA

The women’s professional basketball scenery has definitely evolved after witnessing the coaches’ salaries. However, they are yet to reach their best. And despite their minute proportion to the NBA coaches’ payout, the current salary structure plays several critical functions within the league’s ecosystem.

• Talent Retention: Competitive and fair salaries also assist in attracting and retaining the potential coaching talent in WNBA since it keeps them away from the other leagues or international positions.
• Career Viability: Increased salaries make coaching in the WNBA a viable profession for women professionals who will eventually want to become administrators in basketball.
• Professional Development: The level of coaching goes up once high-quality guidance enters the league with the purpose of improving women’s basketball with a fair remuneration expectation.
• League Stability: If the coaches get security at the financial end, they would love to continue to go all out for their respective responsibilities toward their team, along with other commitments.

The coaching landscape of the WNBA is changing. With the appreciation for quality and veteran leadership, more teams are beginning to appreciate good leaders. Since the league is gaining in popularity and producing more revenue, there will be higher compensations in coaching; that again proves the great value such professionals hold in helping nourish talent, establishing successful teams, and furthering women’s basketball. The payout that the WNBA coaches have received as a salary in recent years is a testament to the influence of the WNBA on the hooping community. However, it is just an investment to multiply the revenue cycles in the future.