Sacramento Kings Hire Nancy Lieberman as their Assistant Coach
The Sacramento Kings will hire Nancy Lieberman as their assistant coach.
"Definitely I'm going to offer her a job," Kings vice president Vlade Divac said Thursday reported by the Sacramento Bee. "George (Karl) and I talked about bringing her back after she helped us at Summer League (in Las Vegas). She was terrific. She brings a different dimension. I think is a nice opportunity for her."
The Hall of Famer also confirmed the news on Thursday. She called that day, via USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick, a "crazy, wonderful day" and later tweeted, "Thank u from the bottom of my heart for all the kindness sent to me @sacramentokings ast coaching job. Humbled, Thankful and READY #blessed"
The official announcement will occur sometime next week. Lieberman, 57, will be the second female coach in NBA History. Becky Hammon, who was hired as an assistant coach by Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs, was the first woman to hold a coaching position in the league.
"The thing that catches everybody's eye is that we're women coaching men," Lieberman said to the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds in Las Vegas. "Eventually, it'll be normal. But certainly, Becky has opened up a tremendous door."
Lieberman's basketball career started when she made the USA Basketball team roster at the young age of 17. Throughout her professional career, she has three gold meals (World Championship, Pan American Games and Jones Cup) and two silvers (Olympic Games and Pan American Games).
In 1996, Lieberman was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame and then in 1998, she was elected into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Lieberman played for the Phoenix Mercury in 1997 during the WNBA's inaugural season. The following year, Lieberman became the head coach and general manager of the team that was formerly known as Detroit Shock. After coaching for three years, Lieberman joined ESPN as a women's basketball analyst.
Lieberman went back to coaching later on in her career. From 2009 to 2011, she was the head coach of the NBA D-League's Texas Legends.
