Eliav Gabay
General Manager Nick U’Ren led the way as the Phoenix Mercury welcomed its 12th head coach in franchise history: Nate Tibbetts.
“From his deep history in player development to his interest and curiousty in the analytics space to a detailed outline of how the offseason’s gonna look to his philosophy on how we’re gonna play and finally, to how he treats players and people on and off the floor,” Nick U’Ren said.
Tibbetts felt the energized atmosphere owner Mat Ishbia and the front office have instilled in the city throughout their discussions.
“Everything that they’ve talked about being a first-class organization – they’re doing it,” Tibbetts said. “I’m so excited to be a part of this. Seeing the girls walk in and seeing their names up there…It’s very welcoming, for sure.”
“It really stuck out to us – every time he mentioned the Suns, he put the Mercury first. That’s the kind of commitment that got me and my family excited about this.”
Ishbia put his money where his mouth is and set forth on a $100 million Mercury practice facility in downtown that is expected to be ready by the start of the 2024 season.
While no numbers have been officially released, Ishbia reportedly also made Tibbetts the highest paid coach in WNBA history.
Tibbetts has clearly built up early rapport with Diana Taurasi too.
“Diana promised to play defense next year, so once she said that, I said I’m all in,” Tibbetts said.
“I was thrilled,” Taurasi said. “What a resumé…Mat, Josh [Bartelstein], & Nick – they’re going all in and I think you can feel that with the hiring of Nate.”
Being endorsed by the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer isn’t a bad start to building team chemistry for the first-time head coach.
“I’m gonna rely on her a lot,” Tibbetts said. “She’s also told me that I can challenge her day-in and day-out, which is awesome…It’s important for our other players to see that. I need to hold her accountable, just like anybody else.”
The X-Factor can also expect a good amount of run and gun from the squad this year.
“Fast-paced game,” Tibbetts said. “Gonna space the floor…gonna crash the glass…great coaches in this league adjust to personnel…part of my job is to evolve to our team.”
While Tibbetts has 12 years of experience as an assistant coach with the Magic and Trail Blazers, as well as six years in the G League – he has yet to garner WNBA experience to this point.
“I do have a lot to learn,” Tibbetts said. “I’m a willing learner, but I’m a basketball guy. This is all I’ve known…Me speaking to the players and them welcoming the way they have – that’s made me not worry about things that they’re not worried about.”
It isn’t an issue in Taurasi’s eyes either.
“I believe the last time we had an NBA head coach that had never coached women before by the name of Coach [Paul] Westhead, we won a championship,” Taurasi said, “I have pretty good experience in that realm.”
Tibbetts grew up a coach’s son before playing at the University of South Dakota.
His late father, Fred, coached high school girls and women’s collegiate basketball for over 30 years, winning 11 high school state titles.
“I came home and I had a missed call,” Tibbetts said. “My mom happened to be in town. I was talking to Lyndsey and my mom and I said, ‘I wonder if he’s calling about the Mercury position,’ and my mom was like, ‘I sure hope so!’…Being in those practices over the years and seeing how he treated his players is gonna have a huge impact on how I treat our players here.”
As the Mercury moves forward, it’ll have a top four pick in the potentially loaded 2024 WNBA Draft and U’Ren made it clear that Phoenix intends to make whatever offseason moves necessary to be a contender again.
More sights and sounds from the press conference:
Nate Tibbetts talks about how his late father’s background as a women’s basketball head coach influenced his eagerness to join the @PhoenixMercury.@Sports360AZ pic.twitter.com/Lpo3ny7iRT
— Claudia Collins (@ClaudiafCollins) October 20, 2023
“Fast-paced game…gonna space the floor…gonna crash the glass…great coaches in this league adjust to personnel…part of my job is to evolve to our team…”
– #Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts@Sports360AZ https://t.co/y08AJ2grYh pic.twitter.com/LtdyRHnk43— Eliav Gabay (@eliavgabay) October 20, 2023
