WNBA legend Dawn Staley was awarded the 2023 Naismith Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year and the third time in her career on Wednesday. Staley, who led South Carolina to the national championship last season, has the undefeated Gamecocks two wins from another title this season.

Staley was a two-time Naismith National Player of the Year in the early 1990s in Virginia.

She has been romantically linked with Lisa Boyer, an associate coach for South Carolina, over the last few years ever since she tweeted about the two acting like an old married couple. However, the couple is not married, according to reports.

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'; }); pollOptions.innerHTML = pollOptionsDom; pollCount.innerHTML = totalVotes + ' votes'; if (totalVotes > 10) { pollCount.classList.remove("hidden"); } } function trackBetsTodayPollImpression() { var intersectionObserverForArticlePoll = new IntersectionObserver( function(entries) { entries.forEach(function(entry) { var pollId = entry.target.getAttribute("data-poll-id"); if (POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['impression_tracked']) return; if (!entry.target || !entry.isIntersecting || entry.intersectionRatio < 0.5) return; setTimeout(function() { if (isInViewport(entry.target)) { POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['impression_tracked'] = true; var isDesktop = "1"; var gaPayload = { "question" : POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['question'], "category": "Basketball", "page_url": window.location.href, "option1": POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['option1'], "option2": POLLS_BY_ID[pollId]['option2'], } if (isDesktop) { gaPayload["device"] = "Desktop"; } else { gaPayload["device"] = "Mobile"; } gtag("event", "BETS_TODAY_POLL_IMPRESSION", gaPayload); intersectionObserverForArticlePoll.unobserve(entry.target); } }, 1000); }); }, { threshold: 0.5 } ); var pollElements = document.querySelectorAll('.bets-today-poll'); pollElements.forEach(function(pollElement) { var isAnswered = pollElement.querySelector(".poll-option-answered"); if (!isAnswered) { intersectionObserverForArticlePoll.observe(pollElement); } }) } return { answerPollX: answerPollX, }; }(); "Boyer!! We are that old married couple who started young and will grow old together. You put the ride and die in the RIDE and DIE! Proud of you Boyer. Thanks for sacrificing your career to help to me serve our teams, program, university and state. What a ride?!" Staley tweeted in 2018.

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How well did Dawn Staley perform in the WNBA?

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley

Despite not having the height of some of the great basketball players (at 5-foot-6), Dawn Staley still made a significant impact in the WNBA. From 1999 to 2006, Staley excelled as a player.

Staley started off with Charlotte Sting and quickly took charge of the team as their star point guard. She was named an All-Star in her third season after averaging 9.3 points, 5.6 assists and 1.6 steals. She shot 38.1%, including 37.1% from 3-point range.

Staley followed it up with four seasons of exceptional basketball for Charlotte. She was named an All-Star three more times during that span as she averaged 8.0 ppg, 5.1 apg and 1.4 spg. Staley made 39.8% of her shots, including 38.7% of her long-distance attempts.

Dawn Staley ended her playing career after she was traded to the Houston Comets in 2006. In 2013, she was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Staley won three Olympic gold medals, and the six-time All-Star was named in the WNBA's 10th and 15th anniversary teams. She's also led USA Basketball to an Olympic gold medal as a coach.

Dawn Staley defended her team's style of play after their loss against Iowa

Staley didn't back down and shared her unadulterated take on how her team played during the Final Four. Many were critical of how physically they played, which led to the former WNBA star defending her team.

"We're not bar fighters. We're not thugs. We're not monkeys. We're not street fighters. I do think that that's sometimes brought into the game, and it hurts." Staley said." "You may not like how we play the game, you may not like it, that's the way we play. That's the way I coach. I'm not changing. We found success in it, and maybe some days like today, we end up on the losing side of the stick. But guess what? We live to see another day. We live to see the comeback next year and try to do this again because I'm not changing."

Also read: Caitlin Clark named as 2023 National Player of the Year: Taking a look at her sensational NCAA career

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