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Seatte Storm head coach Sonia Raman directs her defense during the second half of a preseason WNBA basketball game against the Portland Fire, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Seattle. (Dean Rutz\/The Seattle Times via AP)<\/p>\n
Dean Rutz\/AP<\/p>\n
Seattle Storm head coach Sonia Raman watches during WNBA basketball practice, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan\/The Seattle Times via AP)<\/p>\n
Jennifer Buchanan\/AP<\/p>\n
Seatte Storm head coach Sonia Raman confers with assistant coach Michael Joiner during the second half of a preseason WNBA basketball game against the Portland Fire, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Seattle. (Dean Rutz\/The Seattle Times via AP)<\/p>\n
Dean Rutz\/AP<\/p>\n
Seattle Storm head coach Sonia Raman speaks with her team during WNBA basketball practice, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Seattle. (Jennifer Buchanan\/The Seattle Times via AP)<\/p>\n
Jennifer Buchanan\/AP<\/p>\n
SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 Sonia Raman’s coaching career has its roots in an unfortunate accident that sidelined her as a young player.<\/p>\n
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The new Seattle Storm coach was a junior guard for Division III Tufts in the mid-90s when she was hit by a car as she crossed the street.<\/p>\n
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She broke the tibia and fibula in her left leg, an injury that can still cause mild flareups 30 years later on rainy or humid days.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first reaction was, \u2018Scary,’ and, \u2018Am I okay?\u2019\u201d Raman said recently as she prepared for her first season at the helm of the Storm. \u201cAnd, it was painful. And, I remember my second reaction being, \u2018Oh no, I\u2019m not going to be able to play basketball.’\u201d<\/p>\n
She missed the second half of her junior season and the first half of her senior season. As Raman was rehabbing to get back into game shape, she became interested in finding other ways to help her team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really think that was where the coaching element started to take shape,\u201d Raman said. \u201c… It made me see the game from a different perspective, from the sideline, because I would stand right next to my assistant coach, or right behind my head coach.”<\/p>\n
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It became commonplace for Raman to corner head coach Janice Savitz and the rest of the staff in their offices. Raman begged them for videotapes so she could watch more games in her free time.<\/p>\n
Her goal wasn’t to become a coach. She left Tufts with an international relations degree in 1996 and then received a law degree from Boston College Law School in 2001.<\/p>\n
Yet when Raman graduated from Tufts, she asked Savitz if she could stay on as an assistant. During a two-year stretch before she began law school, she helped out her alma mater, and worked for AmeriCorps and then as a solo practitioner for a paralegal during the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cBurning it at both ends for sure,\u201d Raman said with a chuckle. \u201cBut when you\u2019re young, you don\u2019t think about those kinds of things. You just pour in, and you show up and you just keep working. And, it didn\u2019t feel like work because it\u2019s just so fun to do.”<\/p>\n
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A new path <\/p>\n
Raman\u2019s coaching career easily could have come to an end after law school. She took a job with the Employment Benefit Security Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor.<\/p>\n
Simultaneously, she accepted an offer to help out for one season at Wellesley College, where head coach Kathy Hagerstrom was going on parental leave. Raman ended up spending six seasons there.<\/p>\n
Hagerstrom frequently encouraged Raman to consider a head coaching role, which she ultimately did when she accepted a job at MIT in 2008.<\/p>\n
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Julie Soriero, MIT\u2019s athletic director at the time, was initially skeptical of Raman before interviewing her, and wondered if she viewed the job as an entryway into college athletics administration.<\/p>\n
“I was very curious why someone would leave a corporate law opportunity, the job she had, a corporate law job, and come to a Division III coaching opportunity,\u201d Soriero said. “So, I was really looking forward to meeting her. And, when she came in for her interview, she did not disappoint.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nor did she disappoint on the sideline. Raman had a firm understanding of the kind of athletes she needed to recruit, and under her watch, the Engineers enjoyed unprecedented success.<\/p>\n
MIT, a school that has historically struggled to win, went 91-45 across Raman\u2019s final five seasons as she became the winningest coach in school history.<\/p>\n
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\u201cShe just did a great job. And, that didn\u2019t happen overnight,\u201d Soriero said. \u201cIt really happened with a lot of patience on her part, a lot of learning and growing on her part, and a lot of dedication on her part. And step-by-step, she built it to a level to where we were competing for our conference championships year-in and year-out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pros come calling<\/p>\n
Following 11 seasons at MIT, Raman heard from the Rich Cho, vice president of basketball strategy for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. Cho was curious if Raman had any graduating players who would be good fits in either an analytics or coding role in Memphis’ front office.<\/p>\n
Raman told Cho there weren’t any who fit the bill that year, but she would keep in touch. After Raman’s 12th season at MIT, Cho reached out again \u2014 this time asking for her services.<\/p>\n
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Despite some initial skepticism, Raman made the jump in 2020 to the Grizzlies as an assistant coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a huge risk,\u201d Raman said. \u201cIt was probably the biggest personal risk I had taken in my life. I wasn\u2019t a huge risk-taker before that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raman trusted her gut, and became the first person of Indian descent to coach in the NBA, as well as the 14th woman to be named as an NBA coach.<\/p>\n
Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovi\u0107 was an assistant alongside Raman from 2020-23 and was impressed by her ability to get buy-in from the team.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhat players want is somebody who cares about them and has extensive knowledge,\u201d Rajakovi\u0107 said. \u201cAnd Sonia checks all of those boxes. From Day 1, never had an issue with players. Players loved her.”<\/p>\n
Raman takes charge in Seattle<\/p>\n
Such also seems to be the case in Seattle already.<\/p>\n
Raman, an assistant last season with the New York Liberty, has won over Storm players like Dominique Malonga and Lexie Brown with offseason visits; and rookie Flau\u2019jae Johnson with her calm demeanor.<\/p>\n
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\u201cCoach, she\u2019s cool. She\u2019s like a 180 from Kim Mulkey, right?\u201d said Johnson, who played for Mulkey at LSU.<\/p>\n
Raman said she believes she’s always going to be prepared for any role she takes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent a lot of time preparing for this moment,\u201d she said. “Obviously, the 20 years I\u2019ve coached in college, and the five years in the pros, I\u2019ve made a lot of mistakes in my time coaching. And, I think that you can learn a lot from that, and I\u2019ve had some successes as well\u2026 . I do feel really ready for this opportunity and this season.\u201d<\/p>\n
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