At the beginning of any conversation about the WNBA is its rapid growth in popularity. Marketing pizazz from the NBA is a major catalyst. Television partners have shown great promotional commitment that has also been a boon. However, the most important factor that has contributed to the growth of WNBA betting has been the quality of play. Hand in hand with that is the strong coaching that the players get. WNBA coaches have become a key asset for the league’s success in their own right. Let’s take a look at the top-tier coaching lineup for 2020.
2020 WNBA Season Futures
| 2020 NBA Season Duration: | May 15 through September 20, 2020 |
|---|---|
| 2020 WNBA TV Coverage: | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV, CBSSN |
| Odds to Win 2020 WNBA Finals: | Las Vegas Aces 3/1, Connecticut Sun 4/1, Los Angeles Sparks 9/2, Phoenix Mercury 6/1, Seattle Storm 6/1, Washington Mystics 7/1, Chicago Sky 20/1, Indiana Fever 40/1, Minnesota Lynx 40/1, New York Liberty 50/1, Atlanta Dream 100/1, Dallas Wings 100/1 |
Washington Mystics – Mike Thibault
Thibault is a long time WNBA veteran going back to his rookie season as coach of Connecticut in 2003. He won the first WNBA title of his career with the Mystics in 2019. In turn, Washington lost only 13 out of 34 games to the offshore betting line last season.
Las Vegas Aces – Bill Laimbeer
Laimbeer is best known from his “Bad Boy” days as a player with the NBA champion Detroit Pistons. However, his career as a WNBA coach has been outstanding with three championships. He led Vegas to the Conference Finals in 2019. Of great concern is that the Aces were not a good WNBA Betting value. Las Vegas was 13-21 against the spread last year.
Connecticut Sun – Curt Miller
Since 2016 Curt Miller has been the head man with the Connecticut Sun. Last season he led the Sun to the WNBA Finals. That followed back to back seasons in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Los Angeles Sparks – Derek Fisher
Many will remember Fisher as a longtime NBA player that had two stints with the Los Angeles Lakers. Fisher won five NBA championships during his playing career. More emphatically he had a successful first season with the Sparks in 2019 with a record of 22-12 and a berth in the conference finals.
Phoenix Mercury – Sandy Brondello
Sandy Brondello was a pro Player from 1992-2004 and has coached since 2005. A native of Australia she was a two-time WNBA All-Star and was the most valuable player of the then-WNBL in 1995. As a coach, she led Phoenix to the 2014 WNBA title. Additionally, she was named WNBA coach of the year in 2014. Phoenix has made the WNBA playoffs all six seasons under her leadership.
Seattle Storm – Dan Hughes
Since 1999 Dan Hughes has been coaching in the WNBA. Hughes was named WNBA coach of the year in 2001 and 2007 and led the Storm to the 2018 WNBA championship. While with the San Antonio Silver Stars he won the most games in franchise history.
Chicago Sky – James Wade
Second-year coach James Wade had a successful debut with the Sky in 2019. Chicago went 20-14 and made the second round of the WNBA Playoffs. By contrast to the rest of the WNBA Wade’s Sky also brought tremendous value to the WNBA board. Chicago lost only 12 out of 34 games to the betting odds.