Sylvia Fowles drew from a list of elite coaches as the subject of her own coaching future came up more often among her. Naismith Hall of Fame Induction Year. She wanted to know the context of the coaching profession and what is expected of an assistant. She wanted to be ready for anything.
Cheryl Reeve, her head coach during two WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx, answered a question of her own. Why, she asked when Fowles made her decision, was she heading toward the expansion Portland Fire when she could have joined any number of established WNBA franchises?
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“The beauty of it was it was scarier for me to choose Portland, which made me come to Portland,” Fowles told Yahoo Sports. “Because I figure if I’m afraid of it, I think I want to experience it.”
The Fire announced the addition of Fowles to the inaugural coaching staff on Monday, where she will work under head coach Alex Sarama and alongside assistant Brittni Donaldson. The team is expected to debut in 2026, barring a lengthy work stoppage as the league and players’ union negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.
Fowles retired in 2022 as the league’s all-time leading rebounder with two Finals MVPs, two championships, the 2017 league MVP and four Defensive Player of the Year awards. She was inducted into the first ballot of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in June and into the Naismith in September.
“When I first left the league and Minnesota asked me to come back, I felt like I needed a place to debrief about the game as a player,” Fowles said. “I always knew I would come back, because I had so much that I wanted to teach the younger players. And once I got to the beginning of the year, the topic started to come back more to coaching, and I wasn’t sure what that looked like or what it required.”
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Fowles told Yahoo Sports in June that although she had always said no before, Reeve had raised the issue every year since her retirement, telling the center: “If you’re ready, let me know.” As a thoughtful person who doesn’t like to make mistakes or waste time, Fowles often talks with coaches about the realities of the job. Most of the conversations took place with Reeve and Lindsay Whalen, his former teammate from the Lynx dynasty days, who coaches on Reeve’s team with former teammate Rebekkah Brunson.
She also spoke with Sandy Brondello, the new head coach of the expansion Toronto Tempo; Sonia Raman, first-year head coach of the Seattle Storm; and his former position coaches at LSU (Bob Starkey) and the Lynx (James Wade).
“I think I was more open to the opportunity because I felt more prepared,” Fowles said.
Portland provided Fowles with the best place to “get my feet wet,” she said. Everyone, from the front office to the players they will eventually add, is new to the franchise. The Fire and Tempo will participate in an expansion project, although it is unclear when that will take place until the CBA is codified. The new deadline is January 9; the union voted this week to authorize its executive committee to “initiate a strike when necessary”.“If negotiations continue beyond January 9, scheduling issues could arise.
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“Expectations are going to be set from day one on what we need and how we try to run a team, and not having players makes that a little more difficult,” Fowles said. “And as far as, if I really want to do it, I want to start from scratch.”
Sarama, former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant, took up the position of firefighter in October with plans to implement the principles of CLA (Constraints-Led Approach), a popular player development system in Europe. He lacks experience in the women’s game, a void now filled by the addition of Fowles. Second-year Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts also had no WNBA experience and praised the help he received from WNBA champion Kristi Toliver on his team to reach the Finals in October.
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“Most of our conversations were just about what my role would be and how can I help him and create a bond between him and the player and what that looks like,” Fowles said. “But I think my role is going to be a little bit diverse and a little bit of everything. I don’t think he’ll want me to just work with a club coaching position. I know we’ve talked about doing a little bit of everything, learning to do scouting, learning to do film, so I think I’ll be well diversified into a little bit of everything with Alex.”
