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Five takeaways from the Wizards hiring Kristi Toliver

Carly Grenfell|
WASHINGTON, D.C. - OCTOBER 5: Kristi Toliver sits on the bench as an assistant coach of Washington Wizards during a pre-season game against the Miami Heat on October 5, 2018 at Capital One Arena, in Washington, D.C. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - OCTOBER 5: Kristi Toliver sits on the bench as an assistant coach of Washington Wizards during a pre-season game against the Miami Heat on October 5, 2018 at Capital One Arena, in Washington, D.C. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Washington Mystics guard is now the Washington Wizards’ head coach.

The Washington Wizards announced today (Oct. 16) that Kristi Toliver will join its staff as an assistant coach/player development. She becomes the fourth-ever woman to coach in the NBA behind Jenny Boucek, Nancy Lieberman and Becky Hammon — a milestone worth celebrating and highlighting. Here are five key takeaways to what this hire means for women’s basketball and the sports world as a whole.

Becky Hammon started it

While it’s necessary to give Toliver all the credit in the world for landing this position, the barriers Hammon shattered should not be forgotten, either. The first woman coach in the NBA is monumental. The second and third are monumental, but become a little more normal. Eventually, opportunities of this magnitude won’t be breaking news. That’s exciting.

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Pau Gasol says it best

In his open letter for the Players Tribune about female coaches, he shoots down the argument that a woman isn’t capable of coaching men at the highest level. In his own words, ” I’ve played with some of the best players of this generation … and I’ve played under two of the sharpest minds in the history of sports, in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. And I’m telling you: Becky Hammon can coach.”

Soon, players will be saying the same about Toliver.

Wizards head coach Scott Brooks values Kristi for Kristi and no one else

In an interview with the Washington Post’s Candace Buckner, I think it’s worth mentioning what Brooks had to say about Toliver’s future in coaching. A boss who is encouraging her to live out her dreams as a player, but seems genuinely excited about her potential as a coach, is a special one.

“She should play. I told her: Keep playing — that’s the best job in the world. This coaching thing, I don’t know about it, or what you’re thinking,” Brooks joked, “She should play as long as she can, but she’s definitely going to be destined for greatness as a coach.”

Firsthand experience in the sport you cover and/or coach is highly underrated

Going back to Gasol’s point on how women too often get knocked for “not being able to coach men,” basketball is basketball. Of course, there are physical differences between the two, but the concepts and x’s and o’s of the game are still the same. The competitiveness is still the same. The intangibles are still the same. The feistiness, grittiness, and confidence that Toliver brings to the table will absolutely make an impact in the NBA — just as much as they would anywhere else.

As the saying goes, love is blind. Coaching is blind, too.

Women in the NBA are here to stay

If you think Toliver will be the last woman hired on an NBA coaching staff, you’re wrong. Sports fans far and wide should appreciate this kind of history, but still not be satisfied. There is so much irony in that statement given the lengths we’ve come since Title IX and how far we still have to go. Let’s not stop now. Agreed?

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