Noelle Quinn: Leading Where Few Can Follow
In 2025, Noelle Quinn remains the WNBA’s only Black woman head coach—leading with calm, purpose, and a legacy bigger than basketball
Believe it or not, while we are living in the year 2025—with all the growth and historical milestones for the WNBA in recent seasons—the league has still not fully embraced diversity.
In a league that once boasted six Black women head coaches in 2022, last season the number dropped to just three: Noelle Quinn (Seattle), Tanisha Wright (Atlanta), and Teresa Weatherspoon (Chicago). That meant only three of the league’s 12 teams had Black women in head coaching roles.
This season, with the addition of the Golden State Valkyries bringing the league to 13 teams, the number of Black women head coaches has dwindled to just one—Noelle Quinn.
Quinn, a former WNBA guard and UCLA star, transitioned seamlessly from player to coach. After retiring in 2018, she joined the Seattle Storm’s coaching staff in 2019, was promoted to associate head coach in 2020, and just a year later became head coach in May 2021. That season, she led Seattle to a win in the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup and has since guided the Storm through multiple playoff appearances.
Known for her calm, emotionally intelligent approach, Quinn has earned respect as a player-focused, servant-leader. Under her guidance, the Storm completed a major turnaround in 2024—improving from an 11–29 record to 25–15 and returning to the postseason.
As the last Black woman serving as a head coach in the WNBA, Quinn’s leadership is more than historic—it’s transformational, offering a blueprint for how inclusive, steady, and strategic coaching can build winning cultures.
“I would not be who I am today without the people who have come before me,” she said.
“I often think about the giants whose shoulders I stand on. I want to honor them because my success is their success. This inspires me in the way that I show up as a head coach. I strive to be the best version of myself and to tap into the mental and physical fortitude it takes to be a leader,” she explained.
Noelle Quinn is not just leading a team; she’s holding the door open for future generations of Black women to lead too.
