San Antonio Spurs: Is NBA prepared for potential of a female head coach?
Adam Silver’s goals for the future:
This past spring, Adam Silver sent shockwaves up the NBA world with a May 9 press release, when he said he wanted to see refereeing and coaching hires split down the middle in the future.
"“It’s an area, frankly, where I’ve acknowledged that I’m not sure how it was that it remained so male-dominated for so long. Because it’s an area of the game where physically, certainly, there’s no benefit to being a man, as opposed to a woman, when it comes to refereeing. The goal is: Going forward, it should be roughly 50-50 of new officials entering in the league,” he said. “Same for coaches, by the way. We have a program, too. There’s no reason why women shouldn’t be coaching men’s basketball.”"
If Silver’s quotes to the Economic Club come into fruition, the NBA could have a very different outlook for the next decade and beyond. The San Antonio Spurs will likely be in the driver’s seat, in terms of the head coaching situation.
Odd as it may sound, diversity advocates will be rooting for the ejection of legendary coach Gregg Popovich at some point during the 2019-20 season. Should that be the case, Hammon — next in line on the bench — would technically become the first woman to head coach in organized NBA game.
This occurrence feels especially important, given the mindset of those involved today. In that Washington Post article that discussed the Philadelphia 76ers hiring former WNBA No. 1 pick Lindsey Harding as a player development coach, the message was crystal clear: the women hired aren’t interested in making a show out of being signed.
They appear insistent on leapfrogging past the “kick in the door” stage, and more geared towards focusing on what can be done now that they’re in. As Harding said during the article:
"“Just having more women around in basketball operations positions will start to, I think, make things a little more normal. And there won’t be articles written, like, ‘Lindsey Harding, first woman this …’ ”"
The stories of what it took to get there, such as newly hired Cavaliers assistant coach Lindsay Gottlieb penning individualized, personal letters to all 351 Division I NCAA universities at the start of her career are important. But if given the chance, what if she’s able to make that a part of an even bigger story?
This is what makes the San Antonio Spurs all the more important to the process.
As an organization, have long made it clear — both verbally and non-verbally — that their intent wasn’t merely a personal relations move. They have faith in what their coaching staff does in getting the team back into their dynastic phase.
Because of this, Hammon and the Spurs could help the NBA fast-forward past what once seemed to be a “necessary” part of the process towards coaching.
On NBA Countdown, Jalen Rose made a point during the 2017-18 season that Hammon would have to show she could have success coaching a collegiate men’s team as a “proving ground,” similar to Hall of Famer and current BIG3 coach Nancy Lieberman.
Given the Spurs coaching situation at the moment, it seems unlikely this step will actually be necessary. Which leaves only one question: what should we expect from the Spurs individually?