For a women’s league like the WNBA, its coaching roster is far from reflective of that. In the last few years, the league has shifted its hiring practices, prioritizing NBA experience, leading to a striking reduction in the number of female coaches. Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon has now shared her two cents on it after her team’s loss to the New York Liberty in the Commissioner’s Cup finals.

“Yeah, that should be different,” Hammon said in her presser as per Winsidr reporter Madisyn Cunningham. “It is a snapshot of probably what goes on in real life. And it should not be a street that flows one way. Quality coaches are quality coaches. Can you hire the best out there?

“And there are a lot of great female coaches out there that are not coaching, and that’s unfortunate.”

The numbers reflect the entire story of this sudden shift in the hiring pattern of the front offices. At the start of the 2023 season, 9 of the 12 WNBA coaches were female, accounting for 75% of the total head coaches. With just three male coaches in Curt Miller, Eric Thibault, and James Wade, the league outright looked like a landscape for women.

But fast forward to the 2026 season, only six teams are led by female head coaches. Veteran names like Becky Hammon, Sandy Brondello, Cheryl Reeve, and Stephanie White are part of this list. This striking reduction is driven by the growing trend of hiring coaches with an NBA background.

Even in the 2026 season, we saw two new hires from that NBA pipeline. The Liberty brought in Chris DeMarco, a former assistant with the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile, the Portland Fire signed Alex Sarama.

It’s important to note that the caveat to this trend is that most NBA assistant coaches are male. For context, three female head coaches in the league, including Hammon, Natalie Nakase, and Sonia Raman, have NBA coaching experience as assistants or in other capacities.

As a result, this shift in mentality among the front offices is reshaping the league’s identity. This is what Becky Hammon was sounding the alarm on during her post-game presser.

“I hope that trend changes,” Hammon added. “There have been a lot of doors open there. But at the end of the day, some decision-makers may have to change how they hire somebody that doesn’t look like you.”

The Aces head coach isn’t the only one, though, to echo this sentiment. Speaking on the Post Moves podcast last year, WNBA legend Candace Parker warned the league about this phenomenon.

“The problem that I have is a lot of the coaches that are going to come from the NBA are not going to be women,” Parker had said. “In a league that is all women, I think that the coaching positions are kind of going back to men. I want the best human, best person, best leader for your franchise, but it’s also about giving it a fair shot.”

Notably, the team’s front offices can’t be blamed alone for these decisions. Becky Hammon, who hails from NBA experience herself, has won three WNBA Championships. It might be a pattern of success that every team is now looking to follow. But while chasing that pattern, these front offices must not lead to an absolute inequity in the WNBA for female coaches.