By Mark Haynes | Special To The OBSERVER
STOCKTON – Lindsey Harding has broken NBA color and gender barriers as the first Black woman to coach a G-League team.
Harding earned her first home victory Nov. 19 as the Stockton Kings took out the East Bay Lakers 112-101.
“Twenty years is a long time for this to happen,” Harding, 39, told The OBSERVER. “An opportunity is all you asked for. It’s not about getting something that you haven’t worked for or you don’t deserve. You put in the time and work … you want to get that opportunity. Fortunately, the Sacramento Kings support women of all backgrounds.”
In 2001 Stephanie Ready, a former Coppin State player and men’s coach, became the first woman to hold a full-time job as a men’s assistant coaching in the NBA Development League (now the G-League). She won a championship with the Greenville Groove and helped pave the way for women to get coaching opportunities in the NBA.
Harding, who was picked first in the 2007 WNBA draft, earned her position as a Kings assistant. In Stockton she joined Anjali Ranadive, daughter of Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who was appointed the team’s general manager. The hires made Stockton the first professional men’s basketball organization run by two women. The Stockton Kings are no joke: they finished first in the G-League’s Western Conference last season, going 25-7. They were 3-4 as of Nov. 20.
The D-League wasn’t just for player development. It was for coaches, too. In 2001, Ready believed she eventually would be the first woman to become head coach of a men’s team. She stood in as acting coach for two games and won both, but the opportunity to run a team full time never came. She left coaching in 2003.
The OBSERVER caught up with Ready, who celebrated Harding’s chance at a head coaching job. “I love it,” Ready said. “Obviously, I think it’s a tremendous thing that’s happening. It’s happening very slowly and gradually, but it’s happening.”
The public’s acceptance of a woman coaching men has changed drastically. When Ready began coaching men professionally in 2001, she wasn’t taken seriously by many media and fans. Despite a successful playing career, scrutiny continued throughout her coaching tenure. Some called it a publicity stunt to help promote a new league; others were even more harsh.
“Maybe it was a gimmick, I don’t know,” Ready said. “But I’m a basketball coach and I’m here to coach basketball games. I don’t care who’s out there. All players want is two things: they want to get better, and they want to win. If you can help them do that, they don’t give a s*it who you are. You could be an alien from Mars.”
The late Raiders owner Al Davis declared, “Just win, baby!” and Harding has lived those words. In her four years with the Kings as a player development coach, she has helped the team win, and many players grew individually under her guidance. Sacramento Coach Mike Brown recognized her ability immediately. That’s how Harding nearly ended up being the Stockton coach a year ago, when former Kings guard Bobby Jackson was hired.
Now it’s Harding’s time. After four years as a Sacramento assistant, she feels more than ready. Brown is among the many NBA pros in her corner, providing advice and support.
“When you choose to be in these positions and take on these jobs, no matter what you do, there’s always someone scrutinizing,” Harding said. “There’s always someone saying this and that. As long as you can go home and sleep at night, you’re good.”
Harding makes sure her new troops are ready every night.
“It’s all about being prepared,” Harding explained. “If I don’t feel prepared and if I didn’t properly prepare my team, I would be worried. But if we’ve done what we needed to do, if we’ve practiced properly, and they’ve worked on the things they needed to do, then you go out there and let the chips fall where they may. All I can say is we will be prepared and we just have to execute.”
When will we have the first female head coach in the NBA? It’s a goal Harding wants to reach, but her focus is on her current opportunity.
“It’s not about what I want,” Harding said. “It’s about the people with the hiring power to make it happen. So it’s not if I’m ready. The question is, are they ready?
“I’m just focusing on where I’m at. I said I wanted to be a good head coach. I’m here, and so far, so good. It’s great, and we’ll see where it all goes.”
Ready said she believes the NBA could soon see its first female head coach. “Now you have women that are heads of basketball operation departments for NBA teams, which has never happened before. That’s the key,” she said. “So, yes, I do think it will happen sooner because of that. You’re seeing a gradual shift.”
If it’s Harding’s plan to crash that barrier, Ready is in full support.
“I think that she is one of the right people to prove that it can be done, which sounds so silly even to say that sentence,” Ready said. “I will admit it is frustrating to see it take this long. But baby steps are better than no steps. And it’s certainly better than going backward.”