MIAMI (November 15, 2024) – Today, professional women's basketball league Unrivaled announced the head coaches that will be leading each of the league’s six clubs, with Phil Handy, Adam Harrington, Nola Henry, DJ Sackmann, Andrew Wade, and Teresa Weatherspoon all onboard for the inaugural season tipping off on January 17, 2025, in Miami, Florida. Team assignments for each coach, rosters and schedules will be announced on November 20.
With a focus on player development and unparalleled training experiences, Unrivaled coaches will ensure players are prepared for all basketball commitments. Coaches were selected with an emphasis on the advancement of women’s basketball as a whole and the athletes that move the game forward.
Phil Handy, a three-time NBA Champion as an assistant coach, joins Unrivaled from the Los Angeles Lakers, where he served as an assistant from 2019-24 and won an NBA title with the team in 2020 and an Emirates NBA Cup Championship in 2023. His championship resume spans the Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers, where he had a presence at every NBA Finals between 2015-2020. Handy spent five years coaching AAU Club Team 94 while training NBA players during the offseason, and also ran his own basketball training business for more than 13 years, working with top talent across the NBA, Europe and college. Handy also enjoyed an impressive playing career, with stops at the Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, the CBA, Israel, France, England, Germany, Italy and Australia.
A former assistant coach and Director of Player Development for the Brooklyn Nets and shooting coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Adam Harrington brings professional basketball experience as a player and a coach to the league. Harrington also founded With Purpose Training, where he has worked with various NBA and NCAA players. Following his time as a collegiate player with North Carolina State and Auburn, Harrington went on to have a nine-year professional career (2002-10) that included stints with the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets, as well as time in the NBA D-League (former NBA G League), China, Spain, Israel, Germany, Croatia, France and Poland.
Nola Henry joins Unrivaled after four seasons with the WNBA, where she most recently served as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Sparks. Prior to her time with the Sparks, she was part of Head Coach Curt Miller’s staff with the Connecticut Sun and a graduate assistant at the University of Hartford’s women’s basketball program. Prior to embarking on her coaching career, Henry played collegiate basketball at both the University of Massachusetts and College of Charleston as a four-year starter and team captain.
A globally recognized NBA and WNBA skills coach with over 15 years of experience, DJ Sackmann brings expansive player development expertise to the league. Sackmann has worked with more than 15,000 players across multiple countries through camps, clinics, workshops and more to help players and coaches refine their skills. He also founded HoopStudy, an innovative online educational platform that has helped over 12,000 athletes worldwide elevate their game through structured online curriculums.
Andrew Wade joins Unrivaled from the Washington Mystics, where he most recently served as player development/assistant coach over the span of six seasons, including the team’s WNBA Championship title year in 2019. Wade also served as a coaching associate and player development staffer with the Washington Wizards’ G League Team, the Capital City Go-Go, and a youth academy coach and instructor for the Orlando Magic.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member, two-time Olympic medalist, and WNBA legend Teresa Weatherspoon joins Unrivaled after most recently serving as head coach for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. After a distinguished playing career, Weatherspoon began coaching in 2007 as head coach of the Westchester Phantoms in the American Basketball Association. She then joined the coaching staff at Louisiana Tech in 2008 and was promoted to head coach in 2009, leading the Lady Techsters to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2010-11), a Western Athletic Conference Tournament title (2010) and two WAC regular-season championships (2009, 2011). Weatherspoon also spent time with the New Orleans Pelicans as a player development coach and assistant coach.
Unrivaled will tip off its inaugural season on January 17, 2025. Partnering with Mediapro North America, Unrivaled will produce and host all games at a brand-new state-of-the-art facility in Miami, Florida, with each contest set to be broadcast live across TNT and truTV – along with all games being streamed on Max. Follow unrivaled.basketball and @UnrivaledBasketball for news and announcements ahead of the debut season.
