Shelley Patterson is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach, currently an

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...

with the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

of the WNBA.

College career

Patterson played point guard for the

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

and graduated from

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

in 1984. Patterson shares the single-game record for steals (9) with four other players. She led the team in steals (99) and assists (95) during the 1982-83 season. During the 1980-81 season, she led the team in assists (96). She stands 4th all-time at WSU in career steals with 237 in 84 games played.

Early career

Patterson began her coaching career in the NCAA as a recruiting coordinator for

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

. She later served as an assistant coach with the

Philadelphia Rage The Philadelphia Rage, were one of the eight original franchises of the American Basketball League (ABL), a women's professional basketball league. The franchise existed for just two-and-a-half seasons—1996-97 in Richmond, Virginia, 1997–98 ...

of the American Basketball League.

WNBA career

Patterson served as Director of Basketball Operations for the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

during their 1999 championship season. She then served as an assistant coach for the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

from 2000 to 2003, and the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

in 2004. In 2005, Patterson worked as head coach of the Chicago Blaze of the

National Women's Basketball League The National Women's Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NWBL, was an organization governing professional basketball leagues for women in the United States. The league was founded in 1997 and began play in the Fall of that year. The league ...

. Prior to joining the Lynx in 2010, Patterson worked as an assistant coach with the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

for three years. On January 28, 2020, Patterson was named an assistant coach with the New York Liberty. She joined head coach Walt Hopkins in New York, with whom she spent the prior three seasons as an assistant in Minnesota. One of her specialties as a coach is "shot mechanics and fine-tuning three-point shooting." On January 27, 2022, Patterson joined the Washington Mystics organization as an assistant coach after spending 2 years with the Liberty.

Notes

External links

WNBA Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Shelly Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women's basketball coaches Houston Comets coaches Indiana Fever coaches Minnesota Lynx coaches Phoenix Mercury coaches Seattle Storm coaches Washington Mystics coaches Washington State Cougars women's basketball players