Report: Boston Celtics to hire former WNBA guard Kara Lawson as assistant coach
The Boston Celtics are reportedly adding Kara Lawson to their coaching staff.
Lawson, a longtime WNBA point guard, will join Brad Stevens’ staff with the Celtics, becoming the latest woman to land on an NBA coaching staff. According to ESPN, Lawson, 38, explored several coaching opportunities in recent years, but the opportunity to work with Stevens ultimately ended up being the best fit.
After a standout career as a point guard at the University of Tennessee under legendary coach Pat Summitt, Lawson played 13 seasons in the WNBA with the Sacramento Monarchs, Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics. She won a WNBA title with the Monarchs in 2005 and earned All-Star honors in 2007. The next year, she won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Games as a member of the U.S. Olympic team.
Lawson retired from the WNBA in 2015 to become a full-time broadcaster. She has worked as an analyst for ESPN, covering both the NBA and WNBA, as well as college basketball. She has also worked as an analyst for Washington Wizards broadcasts.
Lawson is now the eighth woman with a full-time on-court coaching position in the NBA, joining Lindsay Gottlieb (Cleveland Cavaliers), Becky Hammon (San Antonio Spurs), Kristi Toliver (Washington Wizards), Karen Stack-Umlauf (Chicago Bulls), Natalie Nakase (Los Angeles Clippers), Jenny Boucek (Dallas Mavericks) and Lindsey Harding (Philadelphia 76ers). The NBA also employs three female referees.
Lawson’s hire comes two weeks after the Cavaliers hired Gottlieb, who was formerly the head women’s coach at Cal-Berkeley. With the hire, Gottlieb became the first women’s college coach to join an NBA staff.
Earlier this offseason, the New Orleans Pelicans hired former WNBA star Swin Cash as Vice President of Basketball Operations and Team Development.
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