Hornets to interview Lindsey Harding for head-coaching job

The Charlotte Hornets requested and received permission to interview Sacramento Kings G League coach Lindsey Harding for their upcoming head-coaching vacancy, ESPN and The Athletic reported Monday.

Harding recently completed her first season as head coach of the Stockton Kings (Calif.), and she became the first woman to be named G League Coach of the Year. Stockton had the league's best record of 24-10, but was eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday after losing 114-107 to the Oklahoma City Blues in the Western Conference final.

If she gets the job in Charlotte, she will be the first female head coach in the NBA or any of the four major sports leagues in the United States and Canada.

The Hornets recently announced that Steve Clifford's second stint as head coach would end at the end of the season. Charlotte is 19-59, tied for the NBA's third-worst record.

Harding, 39, was selected first overall in the 2007 WNBA draft out of Duke after winning the Naismith National Player of the Year award. She played guard for the Minnesota Lynx (2007-08), Washington Mystics (2009-10), Atlanta Dream (2011-12), Los Angeles Sparks (2013-14), New York Liberty (2016), and Phoenix Mercury (2016).

In 270 career games (210 starts), she averaged 9.8 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.9 rebounds.

Harding also played in Turkey, Lithuania, and Russia.

Harding previously worked as a development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Kings before becoming an assistant coach for Sacramento last season.

Harding is also currently the head coach of the Mexican women's national team, having begun her international coaching career with the South Sudan women's national team in 2021.

SportsLigue