Lin Dunn (born May 10, 1947) is an American women's basketball executive and former coach, who is currently a senior advisor with the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. She was recently the general manager of the Fever. She is most known for being the first coach and general manager for the Seattle Storm. She guided Indiana Fever to their first ever WNBA title. She has more than 500 wins to her name.
Early life and education A native of Dresden, Tennessee, Lin Dunn was the firstborn of four children to mother Whit LaRue and father Harry Dunn. Her siblings are brother Harry Jr., and sisters Carrie and Mary. Their father died from a stroke when Linn was a college freshman and her mother in 2012. Their maternal grandparents in Dresden were county judge and Baptist pastor Thomas Cayce Pentecost and her grandmother, who jointly owned the family home where the kids spent their childhood summers.
Lin Dunn graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1969.
College career Dunn coached for decades in the college ranks, amassing a 447–257 record in 25 seasons as a college head coach. In her tenure at Austin Peay State University (1970–1976), the University of Mississippi (1977–1978), the University of Miami (1978–1987) and Purdue University (1987–1996), she made the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship seven times, and the Final Four once, in 1994 with Purdue. She is in the Athletics Hall of Fame at both Austin Peay and Miami. Dunn also was president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association in 1984–85.
Dunn was fired at Purdue after the 1995–96 season, and she moved up to the professional game.
Pro basketball career Dunn coached the American Basketball League's Portland Power beginning in 1996. She was ABL's coach of the year for 1998, right before that league folded.
Dunn then became the first coach and GM of the expansion Seattle Storm club in ABL's rival, the Women's National Basketball Association. The team started with a dismal 6–26 season, and Dunn left the Storm just as it was starting to have success. New superstars Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird led the team to the 2002 playoffs, where they were swept by the Los Angeles Sparks. Dunn resigned, leaving the path open for Anne Donovan to build a team that won the championship two seasons later.
Dunn worked as the head coach of the Indiana Fever.Lin Dunn . WNBA.com She won the WNBA championship with the Fever on October 21, 2012.
On May 6, 2014, Dunn announced that she'd retire from coaching at the end of the year.
On June 14, 2014, Dunn was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
On May 24, 2016, she was introduced as an assistant coach for Matthew Mitchell at Kentucky. On May 26, 2017, UK Athletics announced that Coach Dunn had signed a one-year contract extension.
In 2018, she was promoted to Kentucky's head coach.
Management On February 14, 2022, Dunn left her position at the Wildcats to take over Interim General Manager of the Indiana Fever. In explaining her decision, she stated, "I wouldn't come back to another franchise. This would be the only place that I would consider coming out of retirement for."
Dunn was named the permanent General Manager of the Indiana Fever on January 20, 2023.
On October 4, 2024, Dunn moved to a senior advisor position.
USA Basketball In 1990, Dunn was the assistant coach for the USA National team at the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The team, with Teresa Edwards scoring 22 points per game, won all eight contests, with only the win over Cuba decided by single digits. The USA team faced Yugoslavia in the gold-medal final game, and won 88–78.
In 1995, Dunn served as the head coach to the R. William Jones Cup Team. The competition was held in Taipei, Taiwan. The USA team won its first six games, four of the six won by single-digit margins. Their seventh game was against Russia, and they were defeated 100–84. The final game was against South Korea, and a victory would assure the gold medal, but the South Korean team won 80–76 to win the gold. The USA team won the bronze medal.
Head coaching record
College
Professional
| align="left" |POR | align="left" |1996–97 |18||9||9|||| align="center" |4th in West|| || || ||
| align="left" |POR | align="left" |1997–98 |44||27||17|||| align="center" |1st in West||2 ||0 ||2 || | align="center" |Lost Western Conference Semi-Finals |- | align="left" |POR | align="left" |1998 |13||9||4|||| align="center" |Season cancelled|| || || ||
| align="left" |SEA | align="left" |2000 |32||6||26|||| align="center" |8th in West|| || || ||
| align="left" |SEA | align="left" |2001 |32||10||22|||| align="center" |8th in West|| || || ||
| align="left" |SEA | align="left" |2002 |32||17||15|||| align="center" |4th in West||2 ||0 ||2 || | align="center" |Lost Western Conference Semi-Finals
| align="left" |IND | align="left" |2008 |34||17||17|||| align="center" |4th in East||3 ||1 ||2 || | align="center" |Lost Eastern Conference Semi-Finals |- | align="left" |IND | align="left" |2009 | 34|| 22|| 12|||| align="center" |1st in East||10 ||6 ||4 || | align="center" |Lost WNBA Finals |- | align="left" |IND | align="left" |2010 | 34 || 21|| 13|||| align="center" |3rd in East||3 ||1 ||2 || | align="center" |Lost Eastern Conference Semi-Finals |- | align="left" |IND | align="left" |2011 | 34 || 21|| 13|||| align="center" |1st in East||6 ||3 ||3 || | align="center" |Lost Eastern Conference Finals |- ! style="background:#FDE910;" | align="left" |IND | align="left" |2012 | 34 || 22|| 12|||| align="center" |2nd in East||10 ||7 ||3 || | align="center" |Won WNBA Finals |- | align="left" |IND | align="left" |2013 | 34 || 16|| 18|||| align="center" |4th in East||4 ||2 ||2 || | align="center" |Lost Eastern Conference Finals |- | align="left" |IND | align="left" |2014 | 34 || 16|| 18|||| align="center" |2nd in East||5 ||3 ||2 || | align="center" |Lost Eastern Conference Finals |-class="sortbottom" | align="left" |Career | ||409||213||196|||| ||45||23||22||
Personal life Dunn has been an early and lifelong advocate and fighter for women's equality in sports and in general. She has founded a consulting organization, titled Coaches for Coaches, to train, mentor, and guide women coaches on athletic programs.
Dunn is a lesbian and an advocate for LGBTQ rights. She's in a relationship with partner Fran Robinson.
References