New York assistant Sonia Raman has agreed to a deal to become the head coach of the Seattle Storm, a person familiar with the hire told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity on Friday because no official announcement has been made.
Raman was an assistant with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies for four years before coming to the New York Liberty this past season. She’ll make history as the first person of Indian descent to be a head coach in the WNBA.
Seattle fired coach Noelle Quinn last month after the Storm were eliminated by the Las Vegas Aces in the first round of the playoffs.
ESPN was the first to report the hire.
With this hire, New York is the only team still without a head coach. The Liberty didn’t renew Sandy Brondello’s contract after Ne w York lost in the opening round to Phoenix. Raman was up for the New York job as well.
The Storm could look very different next year with All-Stars Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams and Brittney Sykes set to be unrestricted free agents. Mostveteran players in the WNBA will be with a new collective bargaining agreement expected to raise salaries when it finally gets done.
Still, Raman will have sensational young forward Dominique Malonga, who was the No. 2 pick the draft last season.
Raman’s coaching career started at MIT where she was a head coach from 2008-20. She led the school to the Division III NCAA Tournament twice and remains the winningest coach in program history.
