Harding first woman to be G League’s top coach

The Stockton Kings’ Lindsey Harding became the first woman to be named coach of the year in the NBA G League on Tuesday.

Harding earned the honor after guiding the Kings to a league-best 24-10 regular-season record. They earned the top seed in the Western Conference and a first-round bye in the playoffs, which begin this week.

Harding will receive the Dennis Johnson Trophy, named after the late Hall of Famer who was a star guard in the NBA and a G League coach. The vote was conducted by fellow coaches and general managers in the G League.

Harding played college basketball at Duke, where she had her No.10 jersey retired. She was the No.1 overall pick in the 2007 WNBA draft, and following a nine-year playing career, she began work as a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers before spending four seasons as an assistant and a player development coach for the Sacramento Kings starting in 2019.

She was tapped to lead Stockton before the start of this season, becoming the first Black woman head coach in league history.

Tom Hankins of the Indiana Mad Ants and Kasib Powell of the Sioux Falls Skyforce finished second and third, respectively, in the voting.