Lindsey Harding has excelled as coach of the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League and now she will be part of the Los Angeles Lakers’ backroom staff.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers have decided to hire her as an assistant coach. Harding will join JJ Redick’s assistant team of Scott Brooks, Nate McMillan and Greg St. Jean.
Harding is coming off a successful spell as head coach of the Sacramento King affiliate and last year she was named the G League Coach of the Year, finishing the regular season with a 24-10 record. She won the award ahead of fellow candidates, Tom Hankins (the Indiana Mad Ants), and Kasib Powell (the Sioux Falls Skyforce).
Harding spent four years in Sacramento, one as an assistant coach to Mike Brown with the Sacramento Kings and another three as a player development coach. She worked previously as a player development coach and scout for the Philadelphia 76ers.
ESPN reports: “Lindsey Harding — the G League coach of the year — has agreed on a deal to become an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers. Harding leaves the Kings to rejoin JJ Redick, whom she spent time with on the Sixers staff and as a Duke All-American.”
The former WNBA player has experience in FIBA competitions as a coach. In 2021 she took the reins of South Sudan for the women’s AfroBasket. In June 2023, she was hired as coach of Mexico’s women’s national basketball team.
Harding does not hold the position permanently, only performing her duties when the Aztec team has international competitions such as the Americup, or last year’s Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Harding played four seasons of college basketball with the Duke Blue Devils between 2002 and 2007 and Redick played at the same university during the same period, but he applied for the NBA Draft in 2006. Additionally, Both met in Philadelphia in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons when Harding worked as a player development coach.
In April, she was one of the candidates interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job – in the end, the post went to Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee.
Harding will become one of four women currently holding assistant coaching positions in the league alongside Jenny Boucek (Indiana Pacers), Brittni Donaldson (Atlanta Hawks) and Sonia Raman (Memphis Grizzlies).
