The game continues to evolve. We are now seeing more African American head coaches and female referees than ever before. One accomplishment yet to be accomplished is having the first female head coach in the NBA, something commissioner Adam Silver hopes will happen for at least the next five years.
“It would be a huge shame if we didn’t see the NBA’s first female head coach in the next five years,” Silver told NCAA reporter Bonnie Burstein. recent podcasts.
If there’s anyone to be the first to accomplish such a feat in this uncharted territory, it’s Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon.
Hammon spent eight years as an assistant coach with Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs. She is already the first woman to serve as the head coach for a 2020 NBA game between San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers. After interviewing with several teams around the league, such as the Portland Trail Blazers, the 45-year-old did not get the head coaching job from any of the teams she interviewed with.
Hammon then took on head coaching duties in Las Vegas, where he led the team to its first WNBA Championship in his first season as head coach.
Hammon is probably the top candidate for an NBA head coaching position. Same goes for Theresa Witherspoon and Carla Lawson. Sooner or later, women will break through those barriers.