Sylvia Fowles Reportedly Hired as Fire Assistant Coach Ahead of Inaugural WNBA Season

Hall of Famer Sylvia Fowles is joining the coaching staff for one of the WNBA's newest teams.

Per ESPN's Kendra Andrews, Fowles has been named an assistant coach for the Portland Fire ahead of their inaugural season.

According to Andrews, Fowles "had multiple coaching opportunities around the WNBA ahead of next season," but ultimately decided to join Portland because "she liked the concept of being a part of an expansion franchise in its first year — building from the ground up and working with a new batch of players she doesn't have particularly strong ties to."

Andrews also noted that the Fire plan to focus on player development and use "CLA" (Constraints-Led Approach). CLA, common in Europe, uses game situations with specific rules to teach players to adapt in different scenarios, rather than focusing on drills.

Along with the Fire, the Toronto Tempo will hold their inaugural season in 2026. The Golden State Valkyries debuted last season, becoming the WNBA's first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream in 2008.

Fowles, 40, was a center in the WNBA for 13 seasons, spending six years with the Chicago Sky and seven seasons with the Minnesota Lynx. She retired in 2022 with two championships, two Finals MVPs, a WNBA MVP and eight All-Star nods. She was also named the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year four times.

Fowles is fourth on the league's all-time blocks list and was the WNBA's all-time leading rebounder until last year, when Tina Charles claimed that title. '

Fowles, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in April, won four Olympic gold medals with Team USA.