Jul 9, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Dallas Wings head coach Chris Koclanes reacts during the first half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Dallas Wings Player Passionately Defends Head Coach After Fan Chant Disrespect

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Aug 9, 2025 11:25 AM ET

The Dallas Wings suffered an 88-77 defeat to the New York Liberty at home on August 8, thus bringing their 2025 WNBA regular season record to 8-23.

The team has also lost four straight contests (plus they had to play without star rookie guard Paige Bueckers on Thursday), has a 2-8 record in their last 10 games, and is 5-11 during home contests this season.

First-year Wings head coach Chris Koclanes has been the subject of a lot of criticism to this point in the season, as the women's basketball community has constantly questioned whether he has the respect of his locker room, the tactical knowledge to articulate and execute X's and O's schemes on the court, and if he's simply in over his head in this new role.

Myisha Hines-Allen Defends Chris Koclanes After August 8 Loss

One of Koclanes' assistant coaches is Nola Henry, who was the head coach of Rose BC during Unrivaled's first season earlier this year. Given that Rose BC won a championship and Henry was clearly beloved by her Unrivaled players, some fans are convinced she is more capable of running the Wings than Koclanes.

Several Wings fans present at Friday's loss to New York made their opinions about this clear moments after the game ended, as they were chanting, “We want Nola” at Koclanes as he was trying to leave the court.

Dallas sports reporter Landon Thomas posted a photo of this on X with the caption, "Chris Koclanes walking off to 'We want Nola' chants after each home game…

"Nola Henry is the assistant coach for the Dallas Wings." The post has since gone viral, amassing about 275,000 views in about 14 hours.

Chris Koclanes walking off to “We want Nola” chants after each home game…

Nola Henry is the assistant coach for the Dallas Wings. pic.twitter.com/DuJeVG05Sn
— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) August 9, 2025

These fan chants quickly caught the attention of Dallas forward Myisha Hines-Allen, which was shown by a video that X user @FR33ARI posted in a reply to Thomas' initial post.

In the video, Hines-Allen can be heard speaking to the stands (specifically to a fan wearing a shirt that read 'Nola For Head Coach'), saying, "I understand. Well, we want to do well, too.

"We can hear all the outside noise! You know we didn't start the season off well, we're not playing how we should be playing. But we need the fans to support us! [And the chants] aren't supporting us, though," Hines-Allen continued. "Because at the end of the day, Chris is still our head coach. We still need him."