Brittni Donaldson

PORTLAND — The Portland Fire announced the hiring of former Northern Iowa women’s basketball star Brittni Donaldson as an assistant coach and assistant general manager.

The move brings “one of the most forward-thinking, analytically driven, and player-centered coaches in professional basketball to the WNBA,” said the Fire in their hiring press release.

“This is a groundbreaking hire for the franchise,” said Portland Fire GM Vanja Černivec. “Brittni’s rare blend of expertise, her unique skill set and forward-thinking approach make her one of the brightest minds in basketball. More importantly, she is incredibly humble, open minded and kind and we’re confident she’ll have an immediate and lasting impact on our franchise.”

Donaldson was the first female assistant coach in Atlanta Hawks franchise history, serving in that role from 2023-25. She came to the Hawks from the Detroit Pistons, where she was assistant coach/director of coaching analytics. Formerly an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors from 2019-21, she was part of the Raptors’ NBA championship team in 2019.

A native of Sioux City, Donaldson played four seasons at UNI and graduated in 2015 with a degree in statistics and actuarial science.

In 2021, Donaldson co-founded her own sports analytics company in Strata Athletics, which aims to enhance transferable life skills and keep young athletes engaged in sports longer. She currently serves as the company’s CEO.