“Mother,” “Host,” “Reporter,” “1st woman to coach a men’s pro-sports team.” These are some ways that Stephanie Ready has described herself in her Twitter bio. And they are all on point, but she is so much more than that. What’s even more interesting is that the close to 49-year-old analyst hadn’t set out to be a trailblazer. Nor did she have any plans to create history. But that’s what Ready’s life was all about.

From her college days to now, Stephanie has been a source of inspiration to many young girls and women. Born in Takoma Park, Mayland, she was surrounded by a family who ate, breathed, and slept sports. In an interview with Charlotte Magazine, she shared the one rule in her house. “If you don’t want to watch it, go outside and play.”

But that wasn’t the only factor that went into her passion for sports. Although her mother also watched these games, there were more technical nuances that usually escaped her understanding. It was up to a young Stephanie to explain everything, usually with the help of a few at-hand objects, to her mother. That gave her the confidence to accept the responsibility of coaching, first the Coppin State’s men’s basketball team (assistant) and women’s volleyball (HC), and then the Greenville Groove (defunct team) of the NB Development League.

Stephanie Ready and her journey into the world of coaching

She knew she had the skills to explain and make others understand concepts, strategies, and game plans. They would also come in handy at a later stage. Since her family loved sports in general, Ready didn’t favor any one kind. But she did have a preference for constant action, fast-paced sports and found that in volleyball and basketball. At Coppin State, she was part of both the volleyball and basketball Coppin State Eagles teams.

Having acquired an academic scholarship into Coppin, her basketball talent got her a full athletic scholarship after the first semester. Playing as a guard in the Eagles, Ready finished in the Top 10 in steals (2nd), assists (4th), points (8th), and rebounds (10th). On the academic side, she majored in psychology with a minor in management.

The Coppin State’s athletic director and men’s basketball coach, Ron “Fang” Mitchell, offered her the coaching position when she had decided to pursue industrial organizational psychology. And just like that, Ready became the youngest Division I head coach at 22. But when the NBDL team became defunct, she was somewhat at a loss. But that was when the actual magic was about to happen.

When Ready became the first full-time game analyst at the NBA

After the Greenville Groove stint, Stephanie Ready kept herself occupied by doing NBA TV reporting and some local radio programs. But it still didn’t get her anywhere closer to her goal. As a last resort, she decided to ask for help from ESPN’s Michael Wilbon, whom she’d met during her coaching days. Ready sent her video resume to a producer for men’s college basketball, who in turn sent it to women’s college basketball.

After covering a few games here and a tournament there, she joined the Hornets as a sideline reporter in 2004.  And then finally, in 2015, she reached her goal – a game analyst. “This is actually the reason I got into television in the first place… “I have a passion for the game of basketball and being a coach you teach the game and you learn how to explain the game to people who may not understand it.”

“Being a game analyst on television would be perfect, because that’s what you get to do,” Ready had said on the joyous occasion. But none of this would have been possible without the support of her husband, Perry Jones, and their two children, Ivy and James. A fairly private person, the TNT broadcaster doesn’t share much about her personal life.

But there is no doubt that they are extremely supportive of her career. It was needed given that “a woman in sports” is like a shortcut to sexist and downright crude comments. She admitted that it was more often than not hurtful. “The nature of my business is, it’s subjective … And the people who feel a certain way because I’m a woman, it’s not going to change,” Stephanie said. Almost like she has finally accepted the situation and is at peace with it.

Clearly, Ready has reached a stage where she couldn’t care less about what others say about her. And if we were to bring your attention to something else, something like the latest estimate of her net worth. It amounts to about $5 million. That comes in the top 10% of households that are considered wealthy. And especially when you consider that the average net worth of Americans between 45-49 is $781,923.

Just that little interesting fact, you know? Consider it a trivia of sorts, if you will.