The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring Lindsey Harding to be an assistant on first-time head coach JJ Redick’s staff, ESPN reported.
Harding, 40, just completed her first season as the head coach of the Stockton (Calif.) Kings and was named the G League Coach of the Year after a 24-10 finish.
Harding, who interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets’ head coaching vacancy in April, would be the fourth active female assistant coach in the NBA along with Jenny Boucek (Indiana Pacers), Brittni Donaldson (Atlanta Hawks) and Sonia Raman (Memphis Grizzlies).
Harding has a long history with Redick. She was a player development coach with the Philadelphia 76ers when he played there during the 2018-19 season, and both were All-Americans at Duke in the mid-2000s.
Redick’s current coaching staff includes former NBA head coaches Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks, along with Greg St. Jean.
Harding was selected first overall in the 2007 WNBA Draft after winning Naismith National Player of the Year honors.
She spent nine seasons in the WNBA with the Minnesota Lynx (2007-08), Washington Mystics (2009-10), Atlanta Dream (2011-12), Los Angeles Sparks (2013-14), New York Liberty (2016) and Phoenix Mercury (2016). In 270 career games (210 starts), she averaged 9.8 points, 4.0 assists and 2.9 rebounds.