After joining the staff in 2020, Teresa Weatherspoon will reportedly no longer work as an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. The team is parting ways with the former WNBA star, who turned down other opportunities in hopes of rising in the ranks, according to a report from The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Weatherspoon joined the organization as a player development coach in 2019 before being promoted.
She is a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Star. She was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
The former WNBA star was a head coach at her alma mater, Louisiana Tech, for six full seasons, notching a 99-71 record and two NCAA tournament appearances. Before that, she was head coach of the now-defunct Westchester Phantoms of the ABA, the semi-pro men's league.
She had an heralded rapport with player, including star forward Zion Williamson. Last season, he said that Weatherspoon helped him during his long recovery process from a broken right foot, which sidelined him for his entire third season.
"I had a moment where I was leaving the arena," Williamson said. "She asked me, 'All you all right?' Usually, I would brush it off and say, 'Yeah, I'm going home.' But I just trust T-Spoon so much. I said, 'I'm not. I'm not OK.' Her response wasn't words. She cried for me. She literally just cried for me. I took that moment and said, 'I have someone special in my corner.'"
In 2021, Williamson credited Weatherspoon with getting him to add a baseline jumper to his game, giving him confidence and reminding him to have fun.
This story will be updated.