A prominent NBA assistant coach recently looked at his phone when he received a text from his agent. It raised an unexpected question.

Interested in the WNBA?

The WNBA had never crossed her mind. The coach, whose name was granted anonymity to protect future employment opportunities, was focused on becoming an NBA head coach or perhaps making a jump to the men’s college ranks in the right situation.

Even in the women’s college coaching ranks, many have historically sought to climb to the NCAA level and win national championships, where pay and fame are higher, rather than considering W.

While the timing (NBA and college seasons have either just started or are about to start) isn’t great for current prospects, times are changing.

Unlike other basketball leagues, the WNBA completes its season in the fall and this year Seven of the league’s current 12 teams have sacked their coaches. Replacement frenzy remains, a seller’s market.

That’s why salaries are expected to reach $1 million, and the Los Angeles Sparks have been told they’re willing to pay $2 million, the NBA assistant said.

And that’s not even counting the opportunity to coach the Indiana Fever and star player Caitlin Clark, who are among the teams in the market for a head coach.

What was once a coaching afterthought has suddenly become something different.

“I care about my team, but it’s also interesting how much money they pay the coaches,” the NBA assistant told Yahoo Sports.

Or, as another NBA assistant and potential head coach put it to Yahoo Sports, “This is the first time I’ve heard this many people talk about the WNBA.”

There’s probably no simple reason why 58.3 percent of the league’s coaching vacancies are open at the same time.

Perhaps the reason Clark brought popularity to the league was that he caused team owners to become more competitive or impatient. Perhaps that’s why New York Liberty owners Joseph and Clara Wu Tsai poured significant resources into the club and were rewarded with a championship earlier this month.

Maybe that’s why the Las Vegas Aces, who won the previous two championships, are coached by Becky Hammon, who was hired from the San Antonio Spurs for a salary of $1 million.

Maybe it’s just seven separate situations coming to a conclusion at the same time.

No matter what, winning seems very important.

Consider departing Fever coach Christie Sides. The team started the season 1-8, but when Clark joined a team that included 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, the Fever finished 20-20 and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Quite good. It still wasn’t enough.

The Fever work is particularly appealing; Not only because Clark and other young talent make them potential title contenders soon, but also because of the bright attention the franchise can bring.

This is one of the most prominent and followed franchises at all levels of the sport. The Fever play in front of packed stadiums both home and away, receive extensive national media coverage, and routinely attract millions of viewers during regular season games. The average television audience for an NBA game broadcast on ESPN/TNT/ABC in 2023-24 was 1.56 million. Last season, Indiana drew better than that 13 times and played in 22 games reaching more than a million viewers, including on lesser-known channels like ION. There are NBA teams that can only dream of doing this.

Being Caitlin Clark’s coach must be good for a career.

Former Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White is rumored to be the primary bench player, but it would be the rare WNBA job that would make even a top college coach stop and think.

This is where the WNBA’s timing isn’t so good. Top college coaches would be forced to leave their teams on the eve of the season. And while it may be impossible to get Dawn Staley (South Carolina) or Geno Auriemma (Connecticut) to leave their high-paying fiefdoms at any time of year, he could certainly attract the interest of the next level college coach by spring.

Operationally, the WNBA is still not a money-making company, but its owners are so rich that it doesn’t matter. The Tsai’s, for example, are worth an estimated $9 billion. They looked very happy to accept the championship trophy this year.

Whatever the motivation, more than half the league is suddenly looking for ways to upgrade the bench; this includes the most popular team with the most popular player. Salaries are being skewed so much that even coaches who have never considered it before are taking it into consideration.

“Overall, it’s impressive right now,” one NBA assistant said.