LaToya Sanders won a WNBA title as a player. Now she wants the same for the Atlanta Dream as a coach.

On the afternoon of Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals last week, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard warmed up on a stationary bike just outside the visitors tunnel of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The Dream were one win shy of sweeping the New York Liberty and clinching the franchise’s first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013. Understandably, Howard appeared locked in, wearing a steady game face as she pedaled out the final moments of the team’s media availability before shootaround.

Her demeanor shifted after a question about the impact of one of her coaches, assistant coach LaToya Sanders. A full smile now radiated across Howard’s face as she sat back in her seat, answering the question before she even said a word.

“My mom, she’s like, ‘[LaToya]’s your big sister.’ We’re so much alike. I think that’s what helps [LaToya] to keep me grounded,” Howard said. “I think she’s been perfect thus far. I hope that I can have her for the rest of my career.”

In her second season with the Dream, and her fifth as an assistant coach, Sanders has become a pivotal sideline contributor to Atlanta’s on-court success. Those close to Sanders, whose 12-year professional career included seven WNBA seasons and a 2019 championship, laud her basketball intellect and meticulous work ethic. Her pursuit of excellence in basketball, whether as a coach or a player, has been tireless.

Ultimately, her work is for one goal: to pull the best out of her players, win a championship and one day, hopefully soon, become a head coach. For now, she’s looking for her first title as an assistant.

“You sacrifice a lot as a player. You sacrifice a lot as a coach,” Sanders said. “To then come out with the ultimate prize, a championship, it would be wonderful.”

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Among Sanders’ responsibilities is working individually with Howard and Angel Reese, two of the Dream’s All-Stars. She helps craft training plans and watches film with them, tailoring her presentations to highlight how they can use their skill sets to exploit defenses in upcoming games.

Sanders’ key to the pair’s success? Finding ways to elevate their teammates.

“Both of them know that when other players get involved and have success, that the game is easier for them,” Sanders said. “We feel like no matter how good you are, there’s always areas that even the best players can improve in. We try to focus on those so they can be unstoppable.”

Howard lauded Sanders’ feedback style.

“I know that whatever she’s saying is not coming from a bad place,” Howard said. “The impact that she’s had on me, the impact that she’s had on Angel, I think has helped us become better players this year.”

One area Sanders has worked on with Reese is free throw shooting. During the playoffs, Reese has shot 87.1 percent from the line. In Game 2 against the Liberty, Reese came up big with multiple late-game free throw makes to secure the Dream’s overtime win. After the game, Reese referenced the free throw regiment Sanders has crafted for her.

“I got to shoot 10 in a row with Toya. Last one got to be a swish coming right back to me,” Reese told Holly Rowe.

Added Reese a few days later on Sanders: “We have honest conversations. We watch a lot of film. She’s been great for me.”

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This weekend, Howard and Reese will make their WNBA Finals debuts. Until forward DeWanna Bonner arrived in late August, guards Jordin Canada and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough were the only players on the Atlanta roster to lift a WNBA championship trophy. That’s meant Sanders, who understands the pressures of a Finals run after winning the 2019 title with the Washington Mystics, has been an integral resource for Dream players, answering their numerous questions about what it takes to win in October.

“I know a lot of players on this team, they really haven’t been out of the first round of the playoffs until this year. So understanding while that is an accomplishment, it’s not our end goal and we’re all going to just have to take a step forward to win a championship. I mean, it took me 12 years to get to the Finals — then 13 to win a championship. So, it’s not easy.”

Sanders’ role on the 2019 Mystics was that of the starting lineup’s reliable anchor, especially defensively. She was adaptable and could fill the gaps where the team needed her, helping the franchise to its first ring.

“She did all the little things,” said Dream guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, another member of the 2019 Mystics. “Whenever we needed her to step up, she definitely did that. We counted on her all the time defensively, and she always showed up.”

Beyond her time in the WNBA, Sanders had a formidable career overseas. She played alongside stars Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore in Russia and won the EuroLeague with UMMC Ekaterinburg in 2018. She became a naturalized Turkish citizen in 2012, representing the country at both the 2014 FIBA World Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

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Mike Thibault, the second-winningest coach in WNBA history, coached Sanders for four seasons in Washington and said he could always see the makings of a coach in her because of the way she could read the game.

“She was smart, as smart as players that I’ve had,” Thibault said. “She knew scouting reports, knew the game, and studied other players. She really, really studied the game.”

Thibault wasn’t sure, however, whether Sanders would be the “super outgoing” or “demonstrative” presence that coaching demands.

“I don’t think she knew if she was good enough at that, if she would let herself kind of go,” Thibault said. “When she and I talked about it, that was not a concern, but just something where she was [asking], ‘Are you sure I can do this?’”

Sanders joined Thibault’s coaching staff as an assistant in 2022. Just as she was during her playing days, Sanders was consistently the first person in the gym. Thibault remembers being impressed by her curiosity as a coach; in addition to the X’s and O’s, she expressed an interest in learning about the workings of the front office, from salary caps to trades.

“As a coach, that gives you an appreciation for all that has to go into building a roster, camaraderie and a culture,” Thibault said of Sanders, who was promoted to associate head coach in November 2022. She was hired as an assistant with the Dream in 2025. “A lot of young coaches who come from being players assume they know a lot more, and she does not. … There’s a process to this, and was willing to go through the process.”

Now in her fifth year on the sidelines, Sanders has seemingly found her voice. Thibault said she has gotten more comfortable in being able to stand up and say what’s needed, and Walker-Kimbrough added that one of Sanders’ strengths has been holding players accountable. Most importantly, Walker-Kimbrough said, Sanders has done it authentically.

“I feel like sometimes when you’re trying to step into a new role, you kind of sometimes lose yourself or try to overdo it,” Walker-Kimbrough said. “[Sanders] has stayed herself and she’s been honest and she’s been blunt when she needs to be.”

Those around Sanders, from Thibault to Walker-Kimbrough to Dream head coach Karl Smesko, said she’s ready to take the next step in her coaching career.

“She’s ready to be a head coach right now,” Smesko told reporters last month. “She knows basketball at an exceptionally high level and she connects with people at an exceptionally high level. When you have those two things, you’re going to have a lot of success.”

Sanders has continued working to develop as a coach, including by shadowing Atlanta Hawks practices in the offseason, but she isn’t certain what her next step will be. She’s enjoying her time with the Dream but said she’d never turn down an opportunity to be a head coach — though it has to be the right fit, and she’s open to the idea of moving to the college ranks.

“I learned a lot from my coaching experiences in Washington, definitely for myself. I learned a lot from my coaching experience here with Karl so, yeah, you know I think I would be a good [head coach],” she said. “When that situation presents itself, I think I’ll be ready for it.”

As Sanders reflected on her journey in the league and her chance to win her first title as a coach, she thought about how much has changed in both her life and the WNBA since 2019. 

Standing on the sidelines of Barclays Center, Sanders recalled that in 2019, the Liberty were playing in suburban Westchester County, not Brooklyn. There was a crowd of 4,000 on hand to watch the Mystics raise the trophy; the Dream and Golden State Valkyries will be hosting their Finals games in arenas with capacities of more than 17,000.

And Sanders’ 5-year-old son, Semih Sway Sanders, wasn’t yet born — she’d like to give him the championship experience.

“It’s kind of just like a full circle. I poured a lot into playing in the WNBA, made a lot of sacrifices, continue to make sacrifices, you know, as a coach. So, it’s the same feeling,” Sanders said. “I would love the opportunity to win the championship as both player and coach.”