Tanisha Wright
 Wright in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 29, 1983 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | West Mifflin (West Mifflin, Pennsylvania) |
| College | Penn State (2001–2005) |
| WNBA draft | 2005: 1st round, 12th overall pick |
| Selected by the Seattle Storm | |
| Playing career | 2005–2019 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 30 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2005–2014 | Seattle Storm |
| 2015–2016 | New York Liberty |
| 2018 | Minnesota Lynx |
| 2019 | New York Liberty |
| As coach: | |
| 2017–2020 | Charlotte (assistant) |
| 2020–2021 | Las Vegas Aces (assistant) |
| 2021–2024 | Atlanta Dream |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Tanisha Lovely Wright (born November 29, 1983) is an American basketball coach and former player. From 2021 to 2024, she was the head coach of the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. She began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Charlotte.[1] As a player, Wright played 14 WNBA seasons for the Seattle Storm, New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx and played college basketball for the Penn State Nittany Lions. During her junior season, Tanisha helped led her team to the Elite Eight, where they fell to the eventual national champion, Connecticut.[2] She ranks fourth in school history in points scored with 1,995 points in 134 career games for Penn State. She was drafted in the 2005 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm.
High school career
[edit]Born in West Mifflin, she attended the suburban Pittsburgh West Mifflin Area High School, where she played basketball and soccer. She led the team to the W.P.I.A.L (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) basketball district finals in her junior year. The team lost a close game 81–78 to Blackhawk High School in Triple Overtime. Tanisha fouled out in the beginning of the final overtime. She led the game with 51 points. She went on to lead her team to the next seasons finals once again against Blackhawk, where she led the team in a 63–53 victory. She went on to take her team to the state finals, where they lost a close game to Allentown Central Catholic high school 56–45. The team's record was 31–1, their only loss coming in the state finals.
College career
[edit]| Seasons | College |
|---|---|
| 2001–2005 | Penn State University |
Penn State statistics
[edit]Source[3]
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-02 | Penn State | 35 | 355 | 45.4 | 10.5 | 78.2 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 10.1 |
| 2002-03 | Penn State | 35 | 560 | 50.7 | 25.0 | 76.2 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 16.0 |
| 2003-04 | Penn State | 34 | 502 | 48.3 | 25.0 | 83.2 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 14.8 |
| 2004-05 | Penn State | 30 | 578 | 41.4 | 20.0 | 80.3 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 19.3 |
| Career | Penn State | 134 | 1995 | 46.3 | 20.0 | 79.5 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 14.9 |
WNBA career
[edit]
| Seasons | Team |
|---|---|
| 2005–2014 | Seattle Storm |
| 2015–2016 | New York Liberty |
| 2018-2019 | Minnesota Lynx |
Wright helped the Seattle Storm win their second championship in 2010.[4]
On February 2, 2015, Wright signed as a free agent with the New York Liberty[5]
In 2017, it was announced that Wright would be sitting out part of the 2017 WNBA season to rest.[6]
On March 13, 2018, Wright signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Lynx.[7]
Wright was traded back to the New York Liberty on April 11, 2019, in exchange for a second-round draft pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. Following the 2019 season, Wright announced her retirement.
Coaching career
[edit]The Las Vegas Aces announced the hiring of Wright as an assistant coach in 2020.[8] Wright was known as a defensive specialist and helped coach the Aces into one of the league's best defensive teams.
Head Coach
[edit]On October 12, 2021, Wright was announced as the head coach of the Atlanta Dream.[9] On October 2, 2024, the Dream announced that it had parted ways with Wright.[10]
WNBA career statistics
[edit]| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Wright won a WNBA championship |
Regular season
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Seattle | 34 | 8 | 15.5 | .462 | .000 | .667 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 3.6 |
| 2006 | Seattle | 33 | 0 | 15.4 | .353 | .143 | .844 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 3.8 |
| 2007 | Seattle | 34 | 5 | 16.1 | .400 | .273 | .846 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 4.1 |
| 2008 | Seattle | 34 | 14 | 23.8 | .432 | .167 | .787 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 7.9 |
| 2009 | Seattle | 33 | 33 | 32.5 | .463 | .267 | .906 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 12.2 |
| 2010† | Seattle | 34 | 34 | 29.1 | .410 | .411 | .844 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 9.2 |
| 2011 | Seattle | 33 | 32 | 28.9 | .492 | .367 | .897 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 10.1 |
| 2012 | Seattle | 32 | 32 | 29.8 | .373 | .192 | .859 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 2.7 | 7.9 |
| 2013 | Seattle | 34 | 34 | 30.9 | .440 | .283 | .855 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.9 | 11.9 |
| 2014 | Seattle | 29 | 29 | 25.5 | .417 | .278 | .795 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 8.0 |
| 2015 | New York | 34 | 34 | 23.7 | .420 | .364 | .845 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 7.4 |
| 2016 | New York | 29 | 28 | 23.0 | .401 | .235 | .717 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 6.7 |
| 2018 | Minnesota | 33 | 4 | 17.8 | .383 | .396 | .741 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 4.3 |
| 2019 | New York | 31 | 17 | 19.8 | .415 | .368 | .806 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 4.7 |
| Career | 14 years, 3 teams | 457 | 304 | 23.7 | .424 | .308 | .833 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 7.3 |
Playoffs
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Seattle | 3 | 0 | 12.7 | .200 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 3.0 |
| 2006 | Seattle | 2 | 0 | 6.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| 2007 | Seattle | 2 | 0 | 21.0 | .467 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 9.0 |
| 2008 | Seattle | 3 | 3 | 34.3 | .412 | .500 | .750 | 5.7 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 13.7 |
| 2009 | Seattle | 3 | 3 | 32.7 | .342 | .250 | 1.000 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 11.7 |
| 2010† | Seattle | 7 | 7 | 28.7 | .446 | .357 | .571 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 2.7 | 9.6 |
| 2011 | Seattle | 3 | 3 | 28.0 | .588 | .600 | .833 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 18.7 |
| 2012 | Seattle | 3 | 3 | 37.3 | .462 | .400 | .889 | 3.7 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 11.3 |
| 2013 | Seattle | 2 | 2 | 35.0 | .583 | .333 | .000 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 14.5 |
| 2015 | New York | 6 | 6 | 27.3 | .516 | .500 | .714 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 6.5 |
| 2016 | New York | 1 | 1 | 28.0 | .714 | .333 | .000 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 21.0 |
| 2018 | Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 23.0 | .333 | .000 | .000 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 |
| Career | 12 years, 3 teams | 36 | 28 | 27.1 | .469 | .388 | .776 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 9.8 |
Head coaching record
[edit]| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 2022 | 36 | 14 | 22 | .389 | 5th in Eastern | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Atlanta | 2023 | 40 | 19 | 21 | .475 | 3rd in Eastern | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost in 1st Round |
| Atlanta | 2024 | 40 | 15 | 25 | .375 | 4th in Eastern | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | Lost in 1st Round |
| Career | 116 | 48 | 68 | .414 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 |
Overseas career
[edit]| Seasons | Team | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2007–2008 | Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. |  Israel |
| 2008–2009 | Tarbes GB |  France |
| 2009–2010 | Lotos VBW Clima Gdynia |  Poland |
| 2010–2011 | Elitzur Ramla | Israel |
| 2013–2015 2016–present | Abdullah Gul University Kayseri |  Turkey |
References
[edit]- ^ "Aces Finalize 2020 Coaching Staff As 14-Year WNBA Veteran Tanisha Wright Joins Laimbeer, Johnson". WNBA.com. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "2004 Women's NCAA Tournament Summary". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
- ^ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved 26 Sep 2015.
- ^ Voepel, Mechelle (16 September 2010). "Second title even sweeter for Storm". ESPN. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
- ^ Liberty Sign Wright, Swords and Allen Archived 2015-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "WNBA: Wright to rest, will miss upcoming season". Swish Appeal. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
- ^ Andrews, Julian (March 14, 2018). "Tanisha Wright To Bring Defensive Grit To Lynx". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ^ Destin, Andrew (May 13, 2020). "Former Penn State women's basketball star hired as WNBA assistant". Daily Collegian. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta Dream names Dan Padover as General Manager, Darius Taylor as Assistant General Manager – Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "The Atlanta Dream have made the difficult decision to part ways with head coach Tanisha Wright". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved 2024-10-02.