LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two-time WNBA Coach of the Year Curt Miller is the new coach of the Los Angeles Sparks after seven seasons with the Connecticut Sun, the team said Friday.
Miller, also the general manager for the past six years, led the Sun to two trips to the WNBA finals, including this year when they lost to the Las Vegas Aces in four games in the best-of-five series. He was an assistant for the Sparks in 2015 before going to Connecticut.
Miller — the 2019 and 2022 WNBA Coach of the Year — replaces Derek Fisher, who was fired as coach and general manager after a 5-7 start to the latest season. The Sparks have missed the playoffs the past two seasons.
“Curt brings extensive experience as a WNBA head coach, where he has won at a historic pace and helped develop several All-WNBA and MVP-level players,” Sparks managing partner Eric Holoman said in a statement. “His teams play with an intensity and attention to detail our players will embrace, and a passion our fans will appreciate.”
Miller has a WNBA regular-season record of 140-86 and is the fifth-winningest coach in league history with a 61.9% percentage. Before going to the WNBA, he coached Bowling Green for 11 seasons (2001-12) and Indiana for two (2012-14) with a collegiate mark of 290-124.
He is one of four coaches to have won at least 250 collegiate and 100 WNBA games. The others are Van Chancellor, Lin Dunn and Marynell Meadors.
Even though Miller did double duty in Connecticut, the Sparks plan to also hire a general manager during the offseason.
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