Coaching challenges are here to stay in the WNBA.
Teams will be given a second coaching challenge if their first is successful, the league said Thursday, while also announcing several rule changes for the 2024 season.
This change comes after the WNBA first instituted a challenge system last season. In 2023, the WNBA allowed, on a trial basis, one challenge per game, whether successful or unsuccessful, with coaches able to trigger instant review of a foul committed against their own team, a violation out of bounds or a foul committed against their own team. a goalie or basket interference violation.
Throughout the season, however, a number of coaches expressed a desire to adapt the rule, with several of them hoping to have a second challenge if their initial requests for revision were successful. “I would like to see if you win it, you save it for at least one more (challenge),” Washington Mystics coach Eric Thibault said. Athleticism last season.
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Turn That Finger: Assessing the New WNBA Coach’s Challenge Rule
The NBA also instituted a second coaching challenge before the 2023-24 season if the first video replay review request was successful. The WNBA said it made the change “to improve the flow of the game and provide increased flexibility for coaches.”
New this season, the WNBA is also introducing a “reset timeout” at the end of a game. The timeout will allow teams to advance the ball and make substitutions, but notably not to regroup. Each team is allowed one reset in the last two minutes of the fourth period and one in the last two minutes of any overtime period.
A twirling index finger is the movement of challenges. To request a reset, a head coach or player must call a timeout, then cross their arms making an “X” and express “reset” to the official. Some of the main features of the timeout are that if one of the teams rallies, a delay of game will be given to that team and the shot clock will remain as it was when the game was stopped for the reset timeout.
This is part of a broader change in the timeout format across the league. Previously, each team had four full timeouts and two 20-second timeouts. This season, each team will be assigned five regulation timeouts and one additional reset timeout. The twenty-second timeouts have been eliminated and each team will be limited to two timeouts after anything that occurs later between the three minutes of the fourth period or the conclusion of the second mandatory timeout of the fourth quarter .
WNBA preseason action begins Friday as the Indiana Fever takes on the Dallas Wings and the Chicago Sky takes on the Minnesota Lynx. The regular season begins May 14.
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(Photo: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)