The Washington Mystics parted with coach Eric Thibault and general manager Mike Thibault on Wednesday. There are now five coaching openings among the 13 WNBA teams that will play in 2025, plus two more for the expansion teams that will join the league in 2026.
Each of the four teams in the Nov. 17 draft lottery (5 p.m. ET, ESPN) are currently without coaches: Washington, the Chicago Sky, the Dallas Wings and the Los Angeles Sparks. The Atlanta Dream, who made the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, are also looking for a new coach.
Washington and Dallas also need to hire general managers. With the draft lottery looming — not to mention the expansion draft for the Golden State Valkyries on Dec. 6 — big decisions will need to be made for every team in the next few weeks, including by some that don’t have the standard brain trust in place.
The Mystics’ greatest success — capped by the 2019 WNBA title — came during Mike Thibault’s time as coach/GM, which began in 2013. His son, Eric, was promoted from an assistant role to head coach in 2023. Mike Thibault was frank before this season started that the Mystics were in a rebuilding period, and it wasn’t a surprise when Washington missed the playoffs. But an 0-12 start this season and Eric…
