On Aug. 1, the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Atlanta Dream to extended their record to 24-2, good for a winning percentage of .923. If the Aces had continued winning at such a pace, thus besting the 1998 Houston Comets for the highest single-season winning percentage in WNBA history, Becky Hammon would be a shoo-in for a second-straight Coach of the Year Award.
Instead, the Aces since have dropped four more games, and Hammon did not make our list of Coach of the Year candidates.
This circumstance illuminates the degree to which expectations determine the estimation of coaches. As recently discussed by Matt Cohen for Winsidr, it is difficult to quantify a coach’s impact on his or her team. In turn, coaches tend to be evaluated against expectations. The reigning Coach of the Year, Hammon would have had to do something incredible with the defending champs to exceed expectations—and she nearly did.
Chelsea Leite joins Eric Nemchock, Edwin Garcia and Cat Ariail to highlight four coaches who met, exceeded and changed expectations for their teams. Eric praises the Connecticut Sun’s Stephanie White, Edwin elevates the New York Liberty’s Sandy Brondello, Cat trumpets the Dallas Wings’ Latricia Trammell and Chelsea gives kudos to the Los Angeles Sparks’ Curt Miller.
