Mercury hire 3-time All-Star Kristi Toliver as associate head coach

PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Mercury have hired three-time WNBA All-Star and former NBA assistant Kristi Toliver as associate head coach.

Toliver will join the staff of first-year coach Nate Tibbetts in the hiring announced Friday.

Toliver played 14 WNBA seasons with Washington, Los Angeles and Chicago, earning two WNBA titles. She averaged 11.8 points and 3.4 assists before suffering a season-ending torn ACL after 11 games with the Mystics last season.

Toliver became the first active WNBA player to serve as an NBA assistant coach when she joined Scott Brooks' staff in Washington. She coached four seasons in the NBA, two with Washington and two on Jason Kidd's staff in Dallas.

The Mercury hired Tibbetts to replace Vanessa Nygaard, who was fired after the Mercury finished an WNBA-worst 9-31 last season.

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