Tanisha Wright
{{Short description|American basketball player and coach (born 1983)}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Tanisha Wright
| image = Wright5-20180523.jpg
| caption = Wright in 2018
| team = Chicago Sky
| league = WNBA
| position = Assistant coach
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lbs = 165
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|11|29}}
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
| high_school = West Mifflin
(West Mifflin, Pennsylvania)
| college = Penn State (2001–2005)
| draft_league = WNBA
| draft_year = 2005
| draft_round = 1
| draft_pick = 12
| draft_team = Seattle Storm
| career_start = 2005
| career_end = 2019
| career_number = 30
| career_position = Shooting guard
| years1 = {{WNBA Year|2005}}–{{WNBA Year|2014}}
| team1 = Seattle Storm
| years2 = {{WNBA Year|2015}}–{{WNBA Year|2016}}
| team2 = New York Liberty
| years3 = {{WNBA Year|2018}}
| team3 = Minnesota Lynx
| years4 = {{WNBA Year|2019}}
| team4 = New York Liberty
| cyears1 = 2017–2021
| cteam1 = Charlotte (assistant)
| cyears2 = {{WNBA Year|2020}}–{{WNBA Year|2021}}
| cteam2 = Las Vegas Aces (assistant)
| cyears3 = {{WNBA Year|2022}}–{{WNBA Year|2024}}
| cteam3 = Atlanta Dream
| cyears4 = {{WNBA Year|2025}}–present
| cteam4 = Chicago Sky (assistant)
| highlights = * WNBA champion (2010)
- 5× WNBA All-Defensive First Team (2009–2011, 2013, 2014)
- EuroCup Women (2011)
- Israeli championship (2011)
- Israeli State Cup (2011)
- 2× WNBA All-Defensive Second Team (2015, 2016)
- Polish National League champion (2010)
- Israeli National League champion (2011)
- Third-team All-American – AP (2005)
- All-American – USBWA (2005)
- 3× Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (2003–2005)
- 3× First-team All-Big Ten (2003–2005)
| wnba_profile = tanisha_wright
| bbr_wnba = wrighta01w
}}
Tanisha Lovely Wright (born November 29, 1983) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Penn State. During her junior season, Wright helped led her team to the Elite Eight, where they fell to the eventual national champion, Connecticut.{{Cite web |title=2004 Women's NCAA Tournament Summary |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/postseason/women/2004-ncaa.html |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com |language=en}} She ranks fourth in school history in points scored with 1,995 points in 134 career games. She was selected 12th overall in the 2005 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. Wright played in the WNBA for 14 seasons with the Storm, New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx.
Wright began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Charlotte while still playing in the WNBA. After her retirement, she served as an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces from 2020 to 2021.{{cite news |title=Aces Finalize 2020 Coaching Staff As 14-Year WNBA Veteran Tanisha Wright Joins Laimbeer, Johnson |url=https://www.wnba.com/news/aces-finalize-2020-coaching-staff-as-14-year-wnba-veteran-tanisha-wright-joins-laimbeer-johnson/ |access-date=14 February 2021 |publisher=WNBA.com |date=13 May 2020}} After the 2021 WNBA season, Wright was named the head coach of the Atlanta Dream, a position she held until 2024.
High school career
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
= Penn State statistics =
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Team !GP !Points !FG% !3P% !FT% !RPG !APG !SPG !BPG !PPG |
| 2001-02
|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
File:Tanisha Wright at 2 August 2015 game cropped.jpg
File:Wright-20180914.jpgWright helped the Seattle Storm win their second championship in 2010.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/columns/story?columnist=voepel_mechelle&id=5582104|title=Second title even sweeter for Storm|last=Voepel|first=Mechelle|date=16 September 2010|publisher=ESPN|access-date=17 September 2010}}
On February 2, 2015, Wright signed as a free agent with the New York Liberty[http://www.wnba.com/liberty/news/FA_release_2015_02_02.html Liberty Sign Wright, Swords and Allen] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203043251/http://www.wnba.com/liberty/news/FA_release_2015_02_02.html |date=2015-02-03 }}
In 2017, it was announced that Wright would be sitting out part of the 2017 WNBA season to rest.{{Cite news|url=https://www.swishappeal.com/2017/3/13/14912584/new-york-tanisha-wright-sitting-out-wnba-season|title=WNBA: Wright to rest, will miss upcoming season|work=Swish Appeal|access-date=2017-08-30}}
On March 13, 2018, Wright signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Lynx.{{cite web|website=lynx.wnba.com|title=Tanisha Wright To Bring Defensive Grit To Lynx|author=Andrews, Julian|date=March 14, 2018|access-date=March 24, 2018|url=http://lynx.wnba.com/news/tanisha-wright-bring-defensive-grit-lynx/}}
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
Wright began her coaching career while still playing in the WNBA as an assistant at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte 49ers in 2017.{{Cite web |title=Tanisha Wright - Women's Basketball Coach |url=https://charlotte49ers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/tanisha-wright/544 |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=Charlotte Athletics |language=en}}
The Las Vegas Aces announced the hiring of Wright as an assistant coach in 2020.{{cite news|last=Destin|first=Andrew|title= Former Penn State women's basketball star hired as WNBA assistant |url= https://www.collegian.psu.edu/sports/women_basketball/article_73c597c6-9555-11ea-9b03-fb6c09ebca1b.html |date=May 13, 2020|website=Daily Collegian|access-date=May 14, 2020}} Wright was known as a defensive specialist and helped coach the Aces into one of the league's best defensive teams.
On October 12, 2021, Wright was announced as the head coach of the Atlanta Dream.{{Cite web |title=Atlanta Dream names Dan Padover as General Manager, Darius Taylor as Assistant General Manager – Atlanta Dream |url=https://dream.wnba.com/news/atlanta-dream-names-dan-padover-as-general-manager-darius-taylor-as-assistant-general-manager/ |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=dream.wnba.com}} On October 2, 2024, the Dream announced that it had parted ways with Wright.{{Cite web |title=The Atlanta Dream have made the difficult decision to part ways with head coach Tanisha Wright. |url=https://dream.wnba.com/news/the-atlanta-dream-have-made-the-difficult-decision-to-part-ways-with-head-coach-tanisha-wright |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=dream.wnba.com |language=en}}
On January 4, 2025, Wright was named an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky under head coach Tyler Marsh.{{Cite web |title=Chicago Sky Add Tanisha Wright to Coaching Staff |url=https://sky.wnba.com/news/chicago-sky-add-tanisha-wright-to-coaching-staff |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=sky.wnba.com |language=en}}
WNBA career statistics
{{WNBA player statistics legend}}
| class="wikitable" |
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|†
|Denotes seasons in which Wright won a WNBA championship |
=Regular season=
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | 2005
| align="left" | Seattle
| 34 || 8 || 15.5 || .462 || .000 || .667 || 1.7 || 1.6 || 0.5 || 0.1 || 1.2 || 3.6
|-
| align="left" | 2006
| align="left" | Seattle
| 33 || 0 || 15.4 || .353 || .143 || .844 || 1.8 || 1.2 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 1.6 || 3.8
|-
| align="left" | 2007
| align="left" | Seattle
| 34 || 5 || 16.1 || .400 || .273 || .846 || 1.3 || 2.0 || 0.9 || 0.1 || 1.6 || 4.1
|-
| align="left" | 2008
| align="left" | Seattle
| 34 || 14 || 23.8 || .432 || .167 || .787 || 3.4 || 2.5 || 0.9 || 0.2 || 2.3 || 7.9
|-
| align="left" | 2009
| align="left" | Seattle
| 33 || 33 || 32.5 || .463 || .267 || .906 || 3.5 || 3.9 || 1.5 || 0.3 || 2.6 || 12.2
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2010†
| align="left" | Seattle
| 34 || 34 || 29.1 || .410 || .411 || .844 || 3.3 || 4.5 || 1.2 || 0.3 || 2.1 || 9.2
|-
| align="left" | 2011
| align="left" | Seattle
| 33 || 32 || 28.9 || .492 || .367 || .897 || 3.2 || 2.9 || 1.2 || 0.0 || 2.7 || 10.1
|-
| align="left" | 2012
| align="left" | Seattle
| 32 ||32 || 29.8 || .373 || .192 || .859 || 3.0 || 4.4 || 1.2 || 0.1 || 2.7 || 7.9
|-
| align="left" | 2013
| align="left" | Seattle
| 34 || 34 || 30.9 || .440 || .283 || .855 || 3.7 || 4.1 || 1.1 || 0.2 || 2.9 || 11.9
|-
| align="left" | 2014
| align="left" | Seattle
| 29 || 29 || 25.5 || .417 || .278 || .795 || 2.3 || 3.6 || 0.9 || 0.1 || 2.1 || 8.0
|-
| align="left" | 2015
| align="left" | New York
| 34 || 34 || 23.7 || .420 || .364 || .845 || 2.4 || 3.5 || 0.8 || 0.1 || 2.1 || 7.4
|-
| align="left" | 2016
| align="left" | New York
| 29 || 28 || 23.0 || .401 || .235 || .717 || 2.3 || 3.6 || 0.9 || 0.2 || 2.3 || 6.7
|-
| align="left" | 2018
| align="left" | Minnesota
| 33 || 4 || 17.8 || .383 || .396 || .741 || 1.6 || 2.0 || 0.5 || 0.1 || 1.3 || 4.3
|-
| align="left" | 2019
| align="left" | New York
| 31 || 17 || 19.8 || .415 || .368 || .806 || 2.8 || 4.1 || 1.0 || 0.3 || 1.8 || 4.7
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" | 14 years, 3 teams
| 457 || 304 || 23.7 || .424 || .308 || .833 || 2.6 || 3.1 || 0.9 || 0.2 || 2.1 || 7.3
{{S-end}}
=Playoffs=
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | 2005
| align="left" | Seattle
| 3 || 0 || 12.7 || .200 || .000 || 1.000 || 1.7 || 2.3 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.7 || 3.0
|-
| align="left" | 2006
| align="left" | Seattle
| 2 || 0 || 6.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0
|-
| align="left" | 2007
| align="left" | Seattle
| 2 || 0 || 21.0 || .467 || .000 || 1.000 || 2.5 || 2.5 || 0.5 || 0.5 || 3.0 || 9.0
|-
| align="left" | 2008
| align="left" | Seattle
| 3 || 3 || 34.3 || .412 || .500 || .750 || 5.7 || 2.7 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 3.7 || 13.7
|-
| align="left" | 2009
| align="left" | Seattle
| 3 || 3 || 32.7 || .342 || .250 || 1.000 || 5.3 || 5.3 || 1.7 || 0.0 || 3.0 || 11.7
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2010†
| align="left" | Seattle
| 7 || 7 || 28.7 || .446 || .357 || .571 || 2.6 || 2.9 || 1.3 || 0.1 || 2.7 || 9.6
|-
| align="left" | 2011
| align="left" | Seattle
| 3 || 3 || 28.0 || .588 || .600 || .833 || 4.0 || 2.3 || 1.7 || 0.3 || 3.0 || 18.7
|-
| align="left" | 2012
| align="left" | Seattle
| 3 || 3 || 37.3 || .462 || .400 || .889 || 3.7 || 6.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 2.3 || 11.3
|-
| align="left" | 2013
| align="left" | Seattle
| 2 || 2 || 35.0 || .583 || .333 || .000 || 2.0 || 3.0 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 3.0 || 14.5
|-
| align="left" | 2015
| align="left" | New York
| 6 || 6 || 27.3 || .516 || .500 || .714 || 2.7 || 3.8 || 1.5 || 0.0 || 1.7 || 6.5
|-
| align="left" | 2016
| align="left" | New York
| 1 || 1 || 28.0 || .714 || .333 || .000 || 1.0 || 5.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 4.0 || 21.0
|-
| align="left" | 2018
| align="left" | Minnesota
| 1 || 0 || 23.0 || .333 || .000 || .000 || 3.0 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 || 4.0
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" | 12 years, 3 teams
| 36 || 28 || 27.1 || .469 || .388 || .776 || 3.0 || 3.3 || 1.3 || 0.1 || 2.4 || 9.8
{{S-end}}
Head coaching record
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | Atlanta
| align="left" | {{WNBA Year|2022}}
| 36 || 14 || 22 || {{winning percentage|14|22}} || 5th in Eastern || — || — || — || — || Missed playoffs
|-
| align="left" | Atlanta
| align="left" | {{WNBA Year|2023}}
| 40 || 19 || 21 || {{winning percentage|19|21}} || 3rd in Eastern || 2 || 0 || 2 || {{winning percentage|0|2}} || Lost in 1st Round
|-
| align="left" | Atlanta
| align="left" | {{WNBA Year|2024}}
| 40 || 15 || 25 || {{winning percentage|15|25}} || 4th in Eastern || 2 || 0 || 2 || {{winning percentage|0|2}} || Lost in 1st Round
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |Career
| ||116||48||68||{{winning percentage|48|68}}|| || 4 || 0 || 4 ||{{winning percentage|0|4}}
{{s-end}}
Overseas career
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! Seasons ! Team ! Country |
| 2007–2008
|{{ISR}} |
| 2008–2009
|{{FRA}} |
| 2009–2010
|{{POL}} |
| 2010–2011
|{{ISR}} |
| 2013–2015 2016–present |Abdullah Gul University Kayseri |{{TUR}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://charlotte49ers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/tanisha-wright/1006 Charlotte 49ers profile]
{{Chicago Sky current roster}}
{{navboxes|list=
{{Seattle Storm 2010 WNBA Champions}}
{{2005 WNBA draft}}
{{Atlanta Dream}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Tanisha}}
Category:Atlanta Dream coaches
Category:All-American college women's basketball players
Category:American expatriate basketball people in France
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Israel
Category:American women's basketball players
Category:Las Vegas Aces coaches
Category:Minnesota Lynx players
Category:New York Liberty players
Category:Penn State Lady Lions basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Category:Seattle Storm draft picks
Category:Seattle Storm players
Category:Basketball players from Brooklyn
Category:Tarbes Gespe Bigorre players
Category:Basketball coaches from New York (state)