“Anne Donovan played a seminal role in the growth of women’s basketball,” said WNBA President Lisa Borders of former New York Liberty coach Anne Donovan, who died June 13 at the age of 56. “For all she accomplished in college, the WNBA and on the international stage during her Hall of Fame career, Anne will also be remembered as a valued mentor and dear friend to so many in the game.”
Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the 6-foot-8 Donovan won Olympic gold as a player (1984 and ’88) and as a coach (2008). In 2004, she became the first female coach to win a WNBA Championship.
Simone Edwards played for Donovan as part of the Seattle Storm, including the 2004 championship season. A perfectionist, Donovan nonetheless maintained an open door policy with the players.
“She listened,” said Edwards. “My favorite thing about her was she was real. She told it like it is whether you were the star or the least played player on the team. She’d correct you if you needed it. She coached everyone.”
The bench in Seattle asked Donovan for more minutes so they’d be ready when called upon, and she made some adjustments. That preparedness and confidence led to a championship.
TV analyst Christy Winters Scott was around 13 or 14 when she first saw Donovan, then a senior at Old Dominion University, play. She was struck by how tall and thin Donovan was.
“That captured me because I was 13, 14 years old and rail thin, but I loved to compete and I saw that in her,” recalled Winters Scott. “I gravitated toward the competitive spirit she presented regardless of her frame being so long and thin. … That changed the way I played the game.”
Winters Scott was a standout player in high school and college, and then went to play professionally overseas. She returned home to the Washington, D.C., area after one year and began coaching, but thanks to some thoughtful advice from Donovan she went back to play overseas the following year.
“It was the best thing I ever could do because I still had it in my heart to play,” said Winters Scott, who in recent years has combined coaching with broadcasting. “That is something I’ll hang on to.”
Donovan was the coach of the Liberty from mid-season 2009 to 2010. She left to become the head coach at Seton Hall University. After three years with the Pirates, she returned to the WNBA to coach the Connecticut Sun. Since leaving following the 2015 season, Donovan enjoyed time with family, but was always available to answer questions. Edwards said she can’t believe she can’t just send Donovan a text message.
“When I’d see her walk into a gym, I was that same kid again,” said Winters Scott. “She shared time very graciously all the time—always relatable and open.”