Rewriting history for the Indian diaspora in the US, Sonia Raman continues to make headway in the basketball world overseas. Having already scripted a major first as an Indian-American woman to be an assistant head coach for the NBA (and overall 14th woman to be an NBA coach), she has now also become the first person of Indian origin to become a head coach in the WNBA. The big switch happened this week as the 51-year-old settled into her new role as the head coach for the Seattle Storm.
Before switching coasts, the trailblazing official stood in as the New York Liberty assistant coach (2025). Her prior professional basketball engagements had her serve as an assistant coach for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies from 2000 to 2024. But before that, she completed her duties as the head coach of the MIT Engineers women’s basketball team after her assistant coach job at Wellesley College for six years in the early 2000s.
Who is Sonia Raman?
The NBA and WNBA professional wasn’t always associated with the basketball coach dreams. Having initially earned a law degree from Boston College (Juris Doctor in 2001), she worked for the US Department of Labor and Fidelity Investments before starting off her coaching career, as per Tufts Now.
As a former student athlete, she joined the Tufts basketball team as a walk-on in 1992, according to The Juggernaut. As already established, coaching was far off from her original professional path. The then-pre-med student jumped to pursuing international relations before her Tufts basketball journey. Come junior year, she was left with no choice but to stick to the sidelines after a car hit injured her.
Acknowledging her own talents and shortcomings, Sonia Raman once said that she was never the most talented player on her team. As a result, she focussed her energies on being prepared and stepping up her game as a great teammate. Ultimately, sitting on the sidelines became a blessing, as it was then that she started to “study the game more.” The result? She got voted captain as a senior.
Following her top assistant coach job at Wellesley College from 2002 to 2008, she remained head coach for 12 seasons at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). It was here that she helped the elite school reach to the Division III NCAA Tournament twice. According to AP, she became the “the winningest coach in program history.”
Coach Sonia Raman’s Indian connection explore
Although the Tufts alumna is a native of Framingham, Massachusetts, she is a daughter to immigrants parents from India. As per The Juggernaut, her mother hailed from Nagpur, whereas her father from Madras.
Acknowledging how unusual basketball as a career was for someone like her, she previously told the New York Times, “It’s a very nontraditional career path for someone of South Asian descent.” As for her parents, she added, “I don’t think it was on their radar that their daughter was going to become a basketball coach.”
Ahead of the Indian American coach’s Seattle Storm confirmation, sources familiar with the deal told The Athletic that Raman had been signed on to take on the role of head coach as part of a multiyear agreement. She has replaced former Seattle coach Noelle Quinn, who led the charge from 2021-2025.
Raman’s brand-new Storm connection brings her closer to Seattle, which already holds special significance in her life. Her wife, former WNBA player and Stanford alumna, Milena Flores grew up a little over 30 miles outside of the city in Washington State, as per the sports outlet.
Welcome to Seattle, Coach Sonia Raman!