December 5, 2024

Lindsey Harding joining Lakers’ coaching staff as assistant: Sources


By Jovan Buha, Jason Jones and Tess DeMeyer

Lindsey Harding, the coach of the G League’s Stockton Kings, will join the Los Angeles Lakers’ staff as an assistant under head coach JJ Redick, league sources confirmed Tuesday. ESPN first reported the news.

Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Bob Beyer is another coach who is expected to be added to Redick’s staff, according to league sources. He’s been in attendance for multiple Lakers summer league games and has sat alongside the coaching staff, including Redick, Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks.

Harding, 40, was the No. 1 pick by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2007 WNBA Draft. She became the only woman head coach in either the NBA or G League when she coached Sacramento’s G League team in their opener, a loss, against the Santa Cruz Warriors in November 2023.

A former Duke standout whose No. 10 jersey was retired by the program, Harding was named the Naismith Player of the Year in 2007. She played nine seasons in the WNBA and, after her playing career, worked as a scout and player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. She then spent four seasons as an assistant for the Sacramento Kings before being named the head coach of the Stockton Kings.

In April, Harding became the first woman to be named the NBA G League Coach of the Year after leading the Stockton Kings to a 24-10 regular-season record.

Harding has also coached the Mexican women’s national team since 2022 and previously served in the same role for South Sudan’s women’s team.

Harding’s strengths as a coach

Harding’s ability to communicate and connect with players has always been seen as a strength in Sacramento and later as head coach in Stockton. She began her coaching journey in 2014 with Toronto during summer league, while still an active player herself. The knowledge and energy she showed then led to the opportunity in Sacramento because Toronto’s summer league coach, Jesse Mermuys, was an assistant on Luke Walton’s staff in Sacramento. As a former standout point guard, her knowledge of the game and seeing it from a playmaker’s perspective have been valuable in her coaching career. — Jason Jones, Culture staff writer

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(Photo: Jerome Miron / USA Today)



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