Lindsey Harding hired as Kings assistant coach

The former WNBA star recently worked as a player development coach with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Lindsey Harding is getting a promotion.

The former WNBA player and top draft pick will join the Sacramento Kings as an assistant coach, as reported by that team over the weekend.

Harding spent the past three months as a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers after joining the team as a pro personnel scout in 2018. At the time, she was the first African-American woman in the NBA to serve in the scout role. Harding will also work with player development in Sacramento.

She took to Twitter on Sunday to respond to the news:

Harding’s now-former general manager Elton Brand called her “a rising star in this industry,” according to The Undefeated. She is part of a growing list of women making waves in the NBA. That list grew just last month when the Boston Celtics hired ESPN analyst Kara Lawson and the Cleveland Cavaliers hired former California head coach Lindsay Gottlieb as assistant coaches. The New Orleans Pelicans also brought on former WNBA star Swin Cash to work in their front office last month.

The Sacramento Kings have brought on a few women to their coaching staff in the past before Harding. Legendary coach and player Nancy Lieberman was an assistant from 2015-17 and current Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Jenny Boucek had a brief stint in Sacramento in 2017.

Harding spent nine years in the WNBA after being drafted with the top pick in 2007. She played for Minnesota, Washington, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, and Phoenix before retiring in 2016. Harding played college ball at Duke, where she led the Blue Devils to a 32-2 record in her senior season.

Duke tweeted their support of their former standout from the school’s women’s basketball account on Monday:

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