There have been 15 female assistant coaches in the NBA’s history. No women were employed as assistant coaches in the NBA for more than ten years following her one-season stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. When Becky Hammon joined the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 offseason, the WNBA legend finally broke free. A record 11 women worked as female assistant coaches for various NBA teams during the 2019–20 season.
| List of Female Assistant Coaches in NBA | |||
| Assistant coach | NBA Career | Current NBA team | Former NBA team |
| Edniesha Curry | 2021 – Present | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| Sonia Raman | 2020 – Present | Memphis Grizzlies | |
| Teresa Weatherspoon | 2019 – Present | New Orleans Pelicans | |
| Lindsey Harding | 2018 – Present | Sacramento Kings | Philadelphia 76ers (2018-19) |
| Kristi Toliver | 2018 – Present | Dallas Mavericks | Washington Wizards (2018-21) |
| Jenny Boucek | 2017 – Present | Indiana Pacers | Dallas Mavericks (2018-21), Sacramento Kings (2017-18) |
| Becky Hammon | 2014 – Present | San Antonio Spurs | |
| Brittni Donaldson | 2019-20 | – | Toronto Raptors (2019-20) |
| Lindsay Gottlieb | 2019-21 | – | Cleveland Cavaliers (2019-21) |
| Niele Ivey | 2019-20 | Memphis Grizzlies (2019-20) | |
| Kara Lawson | 2019-20 | – | Boston Celtics (2019-20) |
| Natalie Nakase | 2018-20 | – | LA Clippers |
| Karen Stack Umlauf | 2018 – 20 | – | Chicago Bulls (2018-2020) |
| Nancy Lieberman | 2015-18 | – | Sacramento Kings (2015-18) |
| Lisa Boyer | 2001-02 | – | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Lisa Boyer
After more than 20 years of experience coaching women’s collegiate basketball, Lisa Boyer Boyer became the first ever female assistant coach in the NBA in 2001. After that one season, she switched back to playing college basketball.
Indiana Pacers’ Jenny Boucek
Jenny Boucek was only able to play professionally in the WNBA for one season (1997) due to a back injury that would end her career. She then immediately began coaching.
She relocated to Indiana in the 2021 summer and stayed with Carlisle, who after parting ways with the Mavericks accepted the position of head coach of the Pacers.
Brittni Donaldson
After working as a statistics analyst for the Raptors for the previous two seasons, Donaldson was elevated to the coaching staff.
The 26-year-old Donaldson, an Iowa native who played NCAA basketball at the University of Northern Iowa from 2011 to 2015, is now the youngest assistant coach in the NBA, male or female.
Lindsay Gottlieb
Prior to the 2019–20 season, Lindsay Gottlieb joined the team of new head coach John Beilein as an assistant coach on a four-year deal.
She has been a head coach twice, once at the University of California, Santa Barbara (2008–11), and once at the University of California, Los Angeles (2012–14). She has approximately 20 years of coaching experience (2011-19).
Becky Hammon, San Antonio Spurs
2014 summer saw Becky Hammon join the Spurs as an assistant coach following a highly successful 15-year WNBA career. She was the first full-time assistant coach and the second female assistant coach in NBA history as a result. After a year, she was chosen to lead the Spurs’ Summer League team, becoming the league’s first female head coach. Later, she led the group to the 2015 Las Vegas Summer League title.
She was the first female member of an All-Star coaching staff for the 2016 All-Star Game. When she took over after Gregg Popovich was dismissed from a Spurs home game against the Lakers in December 2020, she was the first woman in NBA history to coach a proper game.
Lindsey Harding, Sacramento Kings
Prior to the 2018–19 season, the Philadelphia 76ers signed Lindsey Harding as a scout, then at the conclusion of the campaign, the team elevated her to the position of assistant coach. She later joined the Sacramento Kings as a player development coach prior to the 2019–20 season.
Natalie Nakase
After working as an assistant coach with the Agua Caliente Clippers, the LA Clippers’ D-League club, for a season in the offseason of 2018, Natalie Nakase was elevated to the role of assistant coach. Natalie Nakase joined the Clippers organization in 2012.
She started a one-year internship with the franchise’s video coordinator in 2012. A few years later, she was hired as the team’s video coordinator, and in 2014, she worked as the Clippers team’s assistant coach at the Las Vegas Summer League.
Kristi Toliver, Dallas Mavericks
Prior to the 2018–19 campaign, the Washington Wizards recruited Kristi Toliver as a full–time assistant. Toliver is still involved in the WNBA, playing for the Washington Mystics, unlike the other people on this list, it should be mentioned.
Teams throughout the league presently have openings as the NBA coaching carousel is in full swing. Several amazing ladies, all of whom have perfected their profession and are prepared for an opportunity at the top level of coaching, may be found among the familiar group of assistants and former players.
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