Charlotte Hornets Cleared To Interview Lindsey Harding For Head Coach Position

The Charlotte Hornets have obtained clearance to conduct an interview with former WNBA star Lindsey Harding for their vacant head coaching position.

Should Harding secure this coveted role, she would etch her name in basketball history as the first woman to assume the mantle of head coach for an NBA franchise, The Athletic reported.

The former Duke standout, who coached the Stockton Kings to success in the NBA G League, etched a remarkable achievement last week by becoming the inaugural woman to be bestowed with the NBA G League Coach of the Year accolade, a testament to her adept guidance of the Stockton Kings to an impressive 24-10 regular-season record.

As the current season draws to a close, Steve Clifford is poised to relinquish his duties as the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach, with the expectation of transitioning into a front-office role within the organization, according to ESPN. Jeff Peterson, the newly appointed executive vice president of basketball operations for the Hornets, underscored the team’s commitment to conducting an extensive search process, stating, “We will look to hire someone that shares our values and vision in developing our young core and creating a culture and identity based on teamwork, accountability, and competitiveness.”

In a 2022 NCAA podcast interview with Bonnie Bernstein, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged the need for greater female representation in professional basketball. “In jobs that aren’t about how high you can jump, or how strong you are, or how tall you are, things should be completely equal,” Silver said. “I think you’re going to see that over time in the coaching ranks.” While Silver commended the increasing presence of female officials in NBA games, he conceded that coaching staffs had lagged behind, attributing it to “a bias in the system” and the ongoing development of a new pool of candidates. “I would be hugely disappointed, if certainly, in five years, we haven’t seen our first female head coach in the NBA.”

The Athletic noted that Becky Hammon made history in December 2020 when when she became the pioneering woman to assume the role of head coach in an NBA game after Gregg Popovich’s ejection from the San Antonio Spurs’ face-off against the Los Angeles Lakers.

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