The WNBA’s rosters are majority Black women. Yet, none of the league’s current head coaches is a Black woman. That gap between who plays and who leads has become one of the league’s more uncomfortable conversations. And it resurfaced again this week.

Speaking ahead of the Seattle Storm’s matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday night, head coach Sonia Raman addressed the topic directly.

“I think representation is really important,” she said in a video shared by sports reporter John W. Davis on X. “And this is a league that’s majority black women and so I hope those numbers change in the team soon. It’s important to grow the game to make sure that coaching staffs and our assistant coaching staffs have their representation as well. And then hopefully that changes very soon.”

Raman’s comment lands with a particular weight given who she replaced. She took over the Storm from Noelle Quinn, who was Black and led the franchise from 2021 to 2025. Quinn’s exit left the league without a single Black woman in a head coaching role. This gap hasn’t been filled since.

The league does still have Black head coaches, just not Black women. Tyler Marsh leads the Chicago Sky, and Sydney Johnson leads the Washington Mystics, both Black men. But the specific absence of Black women at the top of any coaching staff is what’s drawn repeated criticism.

Other notable voices around the WNBA, including Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, and Hall of Famer and former Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, have also pointed out the absence of Black women head coaches at various points. And they have all spoken against the current reality in the league.

That disconnect doesn’t extend to the assistant level, where the pipeline actually looks strong.

Are There Currently Black Female Assistant Basketball Coaches in the WNBA?

While there might not be any Black female head coaches in the WNBA at the moment, several are already doing the work one step below it. One notable example is Ebony Hoffman. She serves as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Sparks under head coach Lynne Roberts. Hoffman is a former WNBA player whose career spanned from 2004 to 2019. Her coaching career took off in 2022 with the Seattle Storm, where she also served as an assistant coach.

Apart from Hoffman, there’s also Rena Wakama with the Chicago Sky under head coach Tyler Marsh. Notably, Wakama recently led the Nigerian women’s national team to a historic Olympic quarterfinal berth at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She was also named the 2024 FIBA Best Coach in recognition of that remarkable achievement.

In total, there are currently five Black female assistant coaches in the WNBA. Alongside Hoffman and Wakama, the list includes Briann January with the Indiana Fever, and Courtney Paris with the New York Liberty. And then LaToya Sanders with the Washington Mystics.

That’s ultimately the case Raman, Quinn, and others are making. The talent pool already exists inside the league’s own coaching staffs. What’s missing is the next step turning it into a head coaching job.