Nate Tibbetts, a seasoned veteran as an assistant coach across the NBA, was hired by the Phoenix Mercury in the offseason as head coach. The signing of Tibbetts made him one of three male head coaches in the WNBA, and the highest-paid coach across the association.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With a virtually brand new team, Tibbetts has made it a priority to reimagine the culture in Phoenix.
“New staff, new team, new culture [that] we’re trying to build…It was awesome,” said Tibbetts following training camp. “Our practices were high-level, super-competitive. But it was way more than that. It was our team dinners, our rookie talent show, going to a baseball game together. It was getting to know one another…Those times that we spent together will help us when things get tough.”
© Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
Building continuity within a team that was completely revamped in the offseason is important, and Tibbetts realizes that. His last pit-stop in the NBA was in Orlando, a group that was in the process of building what is now a winning culture while Tibbetts was there. Before that, Tibbetts spent eight years in Portland – a team encapsulated by its culture led by two of the most well-renowned vocal leaders in the sport, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Now, Tibbetts looks to revitalize that culture with the Phoenix Mercury.
However, before building a culture throughout an entire team, building one-on-one relationships with his players was the priority.
“I think players ask two questions [about their coach],” said Tibbetts at the WNBA’s media day. “Number one – do I trust you? By building that trust, you have to be able to spend time with them, show them you know what you’re talking about, and be willing to go through some things. Number two, do you care about me? I think those are the two questions, and that’s the thing that our whole staff is going to bring.”
“Me and [Kahleah Copper] talked after the Vegas game…We’re going to run through a wall for Nate,” said Natasha Cloud. “And when you have a coach that’s a players’ coach and really just leads by example…That poise, that leadership, starting from him – it trickles down into everyone else and sets the standard for all of us.”
Tibbetts has built trust with his players, and is laying the groundwork for a new culture in the Valley. But he’s also transferring a new basketball philosophy that translates on the hardwood.
“We want to [shoot] 35 to 40 threes [a game],” said Tibbetts following Phoenix’s loss to Las Vegas. “That’s the style that we’re going to play. We’ve got people that can get downhill, we need to kick to shooters…We were unselfish, we were sharing [the basketball]. 21 assists, we need that effort as far as just looking for each other.”
In Phoenix’s opener against Las Vegas, the Mercury fired 36 attempts from long-range, converting upon 15 of those attempts and meeting Tibbetts’ benchmark. Phoenix struggled to replicate that volume and efficiency in its home opener against Atlanta, but ultimately came out on top thanks to its resilience on both ends of the floor.
After the win, it was clear that Tibbetts didn’t just set a new standard on the offensive end of the floor. Defensively, he’s gotten his team to stay disciplined, consistently making good rotations and playing with a chip on their shoulders. Phoenix looked more than prepared defensively, and it’s all thanks to the man with the clipboard in hand.
“The first two, three days of training camp, we did not run offense,” said Cloud. “We focused on defense. Understanding that we can have all the scorers in the world, but if we’re not getting stops on the other end of the court, that [stuff] doesn’t matter. So we’ve all bought into that, we’ve all bought into Nate, and I don’t think he gets [talked about enough] for creating and starting a standard [for] this culture that we were easily able to just sit into.”
Nate Tibbetts has set new standards both on and off the hardwood, and Phoenix has entered the 2024 season with a sense of urgency and togetherness that wasn’t apparent last season.
Sophie Cunningham expanding her versatility for the Phoenix Mercury
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Justin LaCertosa covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @LaCertosaSports
