Report: Mavericks Hire Former WNBA Champion Kristi Toliver as Assistant Coach

The Mavericks hired two-time WNBA champion Kristi Toliver as an assistant coach on Thursday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. 

Toliver spent parts of the last two seasons as a member of the Wizards coaching staff. She's also put together an impressive playing resume over the last decade-plus, including two WNBA championships, three All-Star appearances and a national championship with Maryland in 2006. Toliver is averaging 9.5 points per game in 2021 as a member of the Sparks.

Toliver will join Jason Kidd's staff in Dallas in Kidd's first year as the team's head coach. Kidd is 183–190 as a head coach across five seasons with Brooklyn and Milwaukee, and he's spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Lakers. Kidd is one of the best point guards in NBA history, sporting a career resume that includes 10 All-Star appearances, five assist titles and nine All-Defense selections. 

Kidd won his lone championship in 2011 as a player for the Mavericks. 

Dallas reached the postseason in each of the last two years, though they have not won a playoff series since hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2011. Rick Carlisle stepped down as the Mavericks' head coach in June after 13 years with the franchise.