Tanisha Wright

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.^[1] 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.

Tanisha Wright

Wright in 2018
Chicago Sky
Position	Assistant coach
League	WNBA
Personal information
Born	(1983-11-29) November 29, 1983 (age 41) 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
Drafted by	Seattle Storm
Playing career	2005–2019
Position	Shooting guard
Number	30
Career history
As a player:
2005–2014	Seattle Storm
2015–2016	New York Liberty
2018	Minnesota Lynx
2019	New York Liberty
As a coach:
2017–2021	Charlotte (assistant)
2020–2021	Las Vegas Aces (assistant)
2022–2024	Atlanta Dream
2025–present	Chicago Sky (assistant)
Career 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)
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

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.^[2] 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

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

Wright at Madison Square Garden in 2015

Wright in 2018

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

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.^[8]

The Las Vegas Aces announced the hiring of Wright as an assistant coach in 2020.^[9] 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.^[10] On October 2, 2024, the Dream announced that it had parted ways with Wright.^[11]

On January 4, 2025, Wright was named an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky under head coach Tyler Marsh.^[12]

WNBA career statistics

Legend

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

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

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

Legend

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

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