The game continues to evolve. We are now seeing more African-American head coaches and more female referees than ever before. One feat that has not yet been achieved is the NBA having their first female head coach, which commissioner Adam Silver wants to see in at least the next five years.
“I would be hugely disappointed if certainly in five years we haven’t seen our first female head coach in the NBA,” Silver told NCAA reporter Bonnie Berstein on a recent podcast.
If there’s anyone that will be the first to accomplish such a feat in this unknown territory, it’s Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon.
Hammon spent eight years as an assistant coach for Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs. She is already the first woman to serve as the head coach in an NBA game in 2020, a game where San Antonio took on the Los Angeles Lakers. After getting interviewed by several teams in the League like the Portland Trail Blazers, the 45-year-old did not receive a head coaching position from any of the teams that interviewed her.
Hammon would then fulfill the head coaching duties in Las Vegas, leading them to their first WNBA Championship during her first season as the head coach.
Hammon will likely be a top candidate to become a head coach in the NBA. Same for Theresa Witherspoon and Kara Lawson. Sooner, rather than later, a woman will break down those barriers.
