Candidates For NBA’s First Female Head Coach Growing Amid Pelicans, Celtics, Blazers Vacancies

As the number of NBA head coaching vacancies increases, so has the list of female candidates. Six teams are now looking to fill the position, and there is a real chance that a woman will be hired for one of those roles.

The New Orleans Pelicans have parted ways with Stan Van Gundy and the Washington Wizards did the same with Scott Brooks, according to ESPN. Those teams join the Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers, Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers as teams that head into the 2021 offseason without a head coach.

Several women are expected to be granted interviews, giving them a chance to become the first female head coach in NBA history.

San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon has been a head-coaching candidate for a few years. It might only be a matter of time before she is the leader of an NBA team. Hammon made headlines when she interviewed to become the Milwaukee Bucks head coach in 2018, and she’s expected to be considered for most of this year’s openings.

Both Hammon and South Carolina women’s basketball team Dawn Staley are reportedly candidates to replace Terry Stotts in Portland. Staley is also the head coach of the U.S. Women’s Olympic team and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame because of her playing career.

“I come with a lot of credentials,” Staley told The New York Times. “I surely have the confidence. I surely can stand in front of men and lead them. First-team All-Stars. M.V.P.s. I’m OK with that.”

Staley and Hammon were both six-time All-Stars in the WNBA. Teresa Weatherspoon, a five-time WNBA All-Star, is in the running to make history as well.

Shortly after it was reported that the Pelicans needed a head coach, The New York Times’ Marc Stein reported that Weatherspoon is expected to emerge as a candidate to replace Stan Van Gundy. Weatherspoon spent the regular season as an assistant on Van Gundy’s staff in New Orleans.

Former WNBA champion Kara Lawson was a Boston Celtics assistant coach for the 2019-2020 season. Lawson was hired as the Duke women’s basketball coach last summer. Now that Brad Stevens has moved from Boston’s bench to the front office, Lawson is reportedly a candidate to become the Celtics head coach.

“I think they’re gonna hire Kara Lawson,” Celtics analyst Brian Scalabrine said on NBC Sports Boston in early June. “I know the organization thinks that she’s unbelievable. I know that the players respect her when went down to do to coach the (Duke) women’s team there. I mean, I’m just putting A + B = C to me.”

More head-coaching positions could open as teams continue to get eliminated from the playoffs.