Who are Austin Kelly and his wife Karima Christmas-Kelly? Everything to know about the two WNBA Assistant coaches

Karima Christmas-Kelly and Austin Kelly are both assistant coaches in the WNBA. They are married, but they work for different teams. Karima is with the Indiana Fever, while her husband is an assistant coach of the Connecticut Sun.

The two assistant coaches came into the spotlight on Tuesday night when their teams clashed. When the final buzzer sounded, Austin Kelly's Connecticut team prevailed by three points, 81-78.

Interestingly, these two coaches have a long history together. They first met in 2007 and they've both played sports for over a decade. They are now in the same league, but have to compete against each other a few times a year.

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Austin Kelly and Karima Christmas-Kelly have known each other since their college days at Duke

Karima Christmas-Kelly met her eventual husband on the campus of Duke University in 2007. However, coming from Houston, she simply wanted to get adjusted to the campus and didn't want to make friends right away, which is why she mostly ignored Austin Kelly's advances.

Austin, however, was persistent and did not give up easily. He played football at Duke, while Karima was on the women's basketball team. They shared the study hall during the summer before their freshman year, which is where their relationship began.

The Indiana Fever couldn't get a win, despite 20 points from Aliyah Boston (Image via Getty Images)

"A couple of times, I tried to talk to her and she kind of just brushed me off," Austin Kelly said. "You know, so as the summer went on, she started to get more comfortable, and started to talk a little bit more."

The two eventually began dating that summer and have been together for 16 years. They tied the knot in 2017 and are expecting their first child.

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Christmas-Kelly spent four seasons at Duke, averaging 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She was the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft, and during her 10-year career, Karima played for four different teams.

The Sun signed Kelly ahead of the 2023 WNBA season (Image via Getty Images)

While Karima Christmas-Kelly has been in the WNBA for more than a decade, her husband is relatively new to the league. The Connecticut Sun signed him in March, shortly after the start of the 2023 WNBA season.

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Before the WNBA, Austin Kelly worked for the University of Texas Arlington and Vanderbilt. He's been great for the Sun so far, as the team has won four out of five games so far in the season, good enough for the second-best record in the league.