Kings expected to hire Nancy Lieberman as assistant coach

“Absolutely thrilled to be a Sacramento King”. Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee reports that the Kings will be offering Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman a job on the staff and that Lieberman will accept. Lieberman will become just the second female assistant in National Basketball Association history after Becky Hammon joined San Antonio’s staff last season.

Lieberman was unofficially working for the Kings Summer League Team, but the team expects to make her hiring official next week. She coached the D-League’s Texas Legends from 2009 to ’11 before moving into the front office of the Dallas Mavericks affiliate for a year as an assistant general manager.

From going up against the Harlem Globetrotters in exhibitions to playing in now defunct women’s professional leagues, Lieberman’s on-court experience spans four decades.

“I am a King”, Lieberman told ESPN Radio’s Ian Fitzsimmons via text. “I think this is a nice opportunity for her”. She is a decorated worldwide player, an Olympic champion, a former player and coach in the WNBA and was the first woman to play in a men’s professional league in the United States Basketball League. If you remember correctly, Hammon led the Spurs Summer League squad to the title in Vegas earlier in July. Two days ago in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals hired Jen Welter became the first female to hold a coaching position – where she will roam the sidelines as a training camp/preseason intern for the team under head coach Bruce Arians. It’s only a matter of time before one gets a shot at a head coaching job.

Lieberman is as qualified as anybody to coach on an National Basketball Association bench.