From the Basketball Court to a Highchair

Anna Maxey                                                           January 2025

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Christi Thomas played 8 years of professional basketball before she left the game. She didn’t know where life would take her next, but life led her back to the court—only on the sidelines. Becoming a head coach for the game she loves gave her a new family. But she didn’t realize she would be adding her own addition to the family... 

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The Journey to the Pros

When Christi Thomas stepped off the court on August 20th, 2010, she had no idea it would be the last time. Playing for elite teams on high levels was all Thomas had known, and it all came to a stop. “I didn’t feel like myself,” said Thomas, “my last year didn’t go great.” That last season before the end always holds many regrets and what-ifs built into it. But it wasn’t the last time Thomas would be on the court. Just from another angle.

Thomas grew up in a basketball household and has played all her life. Her mother mounted at 5’11 and her father towered over at 6’6 so that could only mean one thing–basketball kids.

Thomas is 6’5 and being 6’5 not only means you can see over everybody, but all eyes are on you. Thomas played high school ball at Buford High School where she led her team to a state championship in 1999 where, unfortunately, the Buford wolves fell short. She went on to play at the University of Georgia under coach Andy Landers, Georgia’s winningest college coach who has made appearances at 31 NCAA tournaments.  

When Thomas got drafted, it felt like a dream. “I had some nerves because it was so late in the 1st round,” Thomas said. Thomas wasn’t in attendance of the draft because of how expensive flights to New York were. “It was a sense of relief and pride when my name was called.” Thomas was the 12th pick of the 1st round, selected by the Los Angeles Sparks. She was a Spark from 2004-2008 when she got traded to the Minnesota Lynx. She was only in Minnesota for a year before she went to the Chicago Sky in 2010.  

Photo taken by Maurice Thomas: Thomas (far right).

Becoming a Coach

Thomas didn’t have any desire to be a coach at all. “I didn’t think I had the patience for it,” said Thomas. After the WNBA, Thomas went and played overseas. She came back to the US and decided she wanted to help kids. What better way to help kids become better people than to better them at a sport you mastered? Thomas became an assistant coach at Flowery Branch in 2016. “I wanted to learn because a good player doesn’t make a good coach,” said Thomas. Thomas was also an assistant coach at Cherokee Bluff before she took on the head coach job at Jackson County. Playing collegiate and professional basketball gave Thomas an upper leg on team dynamics. “Most people play with 2 coaches. I played for 15, 20 coaches with hundreds of teammates so I understood all team dynamics.”  

Thomas became the first black woman to be a basketball head coach at Jackson County. Nervous wasn’t in the ballpark of how Thomas felt– all she wanted to do was help kids. “As a coach, you have the responsibility to grow young women,” said Thomas, “It’s not about the wins and losses.” Thomas bonded with the players and assistant coaches. Before Thomas, the Lady Panthers experienced 5 coaches in 4 years, so they had to build trust with Thomas and learn how to win. “Seeing the girls realizing they could win was really fulfilling,” said Thomas, mentioning their 2021 game against Cedar Shoals. It wasn’t until after a winning game that the unexpected was soon to be expected.  

Sudden Motherhood

Brooklyn Bruce, a former player of Thomas, has a robust relationship with Thomas. Thomas and Bruce have a mother-daughter type relationship where Thomas even baptized Bruce in 2024. “We would go back and forth, and we would argue,” said Bruce, “She was a hard coach, but had good intentions at heart.” Her intentions of dedication and care are not only great coach qualities, but also great mother qualities. Thomas broke the news of her pregnancy after a win. Bruce remembers being in the locker room when Thomas told the team. “I was really excited and shocked when she [Thomas] told us. Makayla and Olivia [other teammates] were saying she was pregnant after she ran off the court to throw up.”  

Thomas’ pregnancy was unexpected. Just months after landing the head coach job, Thomas’ world was a complete 180.  “I was thinking of how I’m going to run a program and be a new mom at the same time,” said Thomas. Thomas isn’t married so thoughts and feelings were all over the place. Being a head coach is hard but placing single motherhood on top of that duty is abounding. Thomas gave birth in September of 2021 to a beautiful baby girl. While Thomas was on maternity leave, assistant coach Drew Williams stepped up and filled in as the temporary head coach. Chandler Blake, another former player of Thomas, wasn’t too fond of having to switch coaching styles. “Their [Thomas and Williams] coach styles are different, and coach [Thomas] understands how I function, and Williams really doesn’t,” said Blake. Thomas’s family, as well as the Lady Panthers, provided her with an amazing support system.

Photo taken by Heather Backer: Thomas (black shirt) with former players.

Balancing Coaching and Being a Mother

“It was hard to balance,” said Thomas, describing the hardships of being a head coach while being a single mom, “I was giving as much of myself to the sport and my kid got the leftovers.” Thomas wasn’t only a single mother to her daughter but also a mother figure to the girls on the team. Off the court, Thomas was helping girls with heartbreak, tough family situations, tutoring, and being a shoulder to cry on. That’s a lot to deal with off the court and having to leave the gym to go home to her kid takes an abundance of patience and courage. Playing in the WNBA made Thomas a fierce woman but being a mom to her daughter and her girls on the team made Thomas a powerful, assertive woman.  

Stepping Down

 After 4 amazing, wild years as the head coach of Jackson County, Thomas decided to step down. She wanted to give her all to her daughter and see her little brother, Corey Thomas, play basketball at Bradley University. Family is everything to Thomas and being able to take her daughter to see Corey play only adds to the reel of highlights.