Teresa Weatherspoon (b. 1965)
Filed under the name Teresa · July 29, 2026
When I read about Teresa Weatherspoon, I think first of the WNBA's earliest years — how hard it must have been to build something with almost no one watching yet, and to be good enough at it to end up in the Hall of Fame. But it's the second part of her story, becoming a coach and mentor, that speaks to me most, maybe because in my own work I have spent nearly three decades caring for people at every stage of life, and I know how different it is to be excellent at something yourself versus teaching someone else to become excellent too. Passing on what you know, patiently, to the next generation of players — that is its own kind of skill, and honestly its own kind of love. In hospice work you learn that the people who came before you, who built the path a little wider, are the reason the ones coming after have it easier. Weatherspoon did that twice, first as a player carrying the whole league forward, and then as a coach handing it off. I am grateful for people who do both.