Amid Dawn Staley Rumors, Charlotte Hornets To Interview G-League COTY For NBA’s 1st Full-time Female HC

The Charlotte Hornets seem to have had it enough with all the losses. So much so that they are open to try something new. In what is going to be the NBA’s first full-time female coach, if it goes through, the Hornets are considering Lindsey Harding to take up the head coach position, league’s sources confirmed on Monday. The G League Coach of the Year had helped advance the Stockton Kings to the Western Conference Finals.

Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed via a tweet that the Hornets were planning to interview Harding for the HC job. If it all turns out to be great, it will be great news for the Hornets, since their last playoff appearance was in 2016. Harding has had experiences with innumerable teams to help them reach their goals. Plus, this will give her the chance to be the first woman to become the HC for any NBA team.

Harding was the No. 1 pick for the Phoenix Mercure from the 2007 WNBA Drafts. Just last year, she was the only woman HC in either NBA or G League, while coaching Sacramento’s G League team in November 2023.

In 2007, Harding retired as a former Duke and was even named the Naismith Player of the Year the same year. After playing 9 seasons in the WNBA, she worked as a scout and a player development coach for the 76ers. And then she spent 4 years as an assistant for the Kings before she became the HC for Stockton Kings. And just last week, she was the first woman to be named the Coach of the Year (COTY) in the NBA G League, after leading Stockton to a 24-10 regular season record.

Interestingly, though, this comes in the wake of the Dawn Staley rumors. Before the National Championship Game between Staley’s North Carolina Gamecocks and Iowa, multiple news outlets suggested Dawn was the best suited for the Hornets gig next season. It doesn’t come as a surprise, really. Staley is one of the most popular names in the basketball coaching circles lately.

In Sunday’s national championship game, Dawn got the South Carolina Gamecocks their third title in the last eight years. The fact that she did so with several first-year players and an undefeated 38-0 run speaks volumes about her basketball acumen. Her deep Charlotte roots are a bonus. While her arrival could spark some major changes, in addition to the Eastern Conference team being a catalyst for a spectacular change, right now, Lindsey Harding is their choice.

Who was the NBA’s first female head coach?

Now with women coaching NBA teams in full form is a rare event, women are actively engaged in player development and being assistants to the current HCs. But back in 2020, on December 30, the revolution started. The Spurs were hosting the Lakers when Gregg Popovich was unceremoniously ejected in the first half. Getting into an argument with the ref over a no-call ended in him getting a tech. But before leaving the court, Pop pointed at Becky Hammon (Popovich’s top assistant) to take over. In her seventh season with San Antonio at the time, she knew the team and the players like the back of her hand.

The guys also knew what Hammon was capable of. So, it wasn’t a difficult transition. If anything, they were more alert and focused. Unfortunately, they lost 107-121 on that history-making Wednesday night. Although they lost the matchup, it was a victory in every other sense. Then Vice President-elect Kamala Harris congratulated Becky Hammon for the remarkable achievement, along with many others.

If the Charlotte Hornets do decide to hire a female head coach at the end of the interviews and every other necessary process, their name will be simultaneous with other history-making endeavors. Hopefully, this can be the change that will turn their bad luck around.

Read More: “Michael Jordan Tore That Thing Down So Poorly”: Dawn Staley Advised Against Hornets Challenge Amid NBA Rumors