{"id":645893,"date":"2026-05-03T21:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T21:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/645893\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T21:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T21:59:15","slug":"mercury-assistant-coach-tangela-smiths-perspective-highlights-how-far-wnba-has-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/645893\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercury assistant coach Tangela Smith\u2019s perspective highlights how far WNBA has come"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 Phoenix Mercury assistant coach Tangela Smith has watched the game evolve as a player, champion and now a coach, giving her a unique perspective on the rapid rise of women\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n

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Smith, who played in Phoenix for four seasons and helped lead the franchise to two championships, said the growth of the league and the sport as a whole is unmistakable.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel like the X-Factor have been great since the beginning of time, but I think the fan base has grown tremendously and the WNBA and women\u2019s basketball overall,\u201d Smith said to WNBA writer Shane Young.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s comments reflect a major shift in the WNBA landscape, where attendance, visibility and investment have all surged in recent years. From national TV exposure to increased local interest, the sport has reached new audiences while maintaining strong support in markets like Phoenix.<\/p>\n

The two-time champion pointed to key structural changes in the league as a driving force behind that progress, most notably the recent collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe CBA was amazing. Everybody who had a part in that, you know,\u201d Smith said. \u201cSo I think just being there and being a part of that has done a lot for the game of basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Phoenix Mercury players huddle up before their preseason game against Team Japan at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, on April 29, 2026. \u00a9 Joe Rondone\/The Republic \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The updated CBA brought improvements in player salaries, benefits and working conditions \u2014 milestones that players in Smith\u2019s era helped pave the way for but did not fully experience during their careers.<\/p>\n

For the Mercury, Smith\u2019s presence on the coaching staff offers more than just experience. She provides a direct link between the league\u2019s past and present, having witnessed its evolution firsthand. In a market that has supported the WNBA since its inception, that perspective carries added value as the franchise continues to grow alongside the league.<\/p>\n

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Phoenix Mercury cheers for their teammates from the bench while playing against Chicago Sky<\/a> on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. \u00a9 Samantha Laurey \/ Argus Leader \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve just seen it grow over the years,\u201d she said. \u201cSo the players are getting way better from when I played. Women\u2019s sports overall is just great.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*Wendy Lopez is a reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on her X account, @wlopezde<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 Phoenix Mercury assistant coach Tangela Smith has watched the game evolve as a player, champion and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":645894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,726,181834,24530,3461,16295,82,240466,240467,630,4501],"class_list":["post-645893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chicago-sky","tag-mortgage-matchup-center","tag-natasha-mack","tag-phoenix-mercury","tag-sami-whitcomb","tag-sports","tag-tangela-smith","tag-team-japan","tag-wnba","tag-womens-basketball"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}