Board of Directors

Pokey Chatman

Assistant Coach, Seattle Storm

Pokey Chatman boasts an accomplished record with success at every level of women’s basketball. As a collegiate athlete, Pokey was dynamic floor general set the all-time steals (346) and assists (570) records at LSU.
While she remains the school record-holder in career steals, her record in assists lasted for 14 seasons. She led her team to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, was a three-time All-SEC selection and led the SEC in 3-point field goals her junior and senior year. Pokey was also a member of the 1988 USA Women’s U18 team that won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 1998, Pokey was inducted into the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame. Following Gunter’s retirement in 2004, she was named the fourth head coach in LSU history. During her tenure as head coach for the Lady Tigers, LSU’s record was 105-19, they advanced to the NCAA Final Four three times, earned the No. 1 seed in two NCAA Tournaments and won two SEC regular-season titles.

As a result of her hard work and dedication, Pokey enjoyed a historic rise as head coach at the collegiate level. She earned numerous national coach of the year awards, two Black Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors and two Louisiana Coach of the Year accolades. When she resigned from her position as collegiate women’s basketball head coach in 2007, she added international professional coach to her already impressive resume. As assistant coach of the Women’s Basketball Club Spartak Moscow Region, Spartak won their next three championships. In 2010, as head coach, she led the team to a 16–0 Euroleague record and their fourth straight Euroleague Championship. By October 2010, Pokey was named the general manager and head coach of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. While there, she  helped the organization reach the playoffs for the first time in club history, which led to a four-year playoff run. In 2014, they made it to the WNBA Finals. Following her tenure in Chicago, she became the general manager and head coach of the Indiana Fever for three years.

While her illustrious career has taken her from state to state and abroad, three things have always remained: faith, family and hard work. Hard at work while seeking her next coaching opportunity, Pokey is developing her podcast, PG POV. As the leader on the court and a liaison to the coach, the podcast uses her experiences to help others tackle everyday life scenarios through the lens of a point guard. In addition to PG POV, Pokey is also working on Principles of Play, a play by play game analysis where she evaluates live game footage and provides a fundamental breakdown of the game.

Focused on enriching lives through her philanthropic endeavors and motivational speaking opportunities, Pokey is lending her voice and her platform to positively impact and further the game of basketball and, ultimately, the game of life.