The Stockton Kings, the G League affiliate of the Sacramento Kings, hired Lindsey Harding as the new head coach and Anjali Ranadive as general manager. For the first time in the history of the NBA’s minor league, two women will be at the helm of one of its franchises.
Harding was the top pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft and spent almost a decade in the league with six teams. After her playing career ended, she found her way to the Philadelphia 76ers as both a scout and assistant coach. Ranadive is the daughter of Vivek, who owns the Sacramento Kings as well as their Stockton affiliate, and she’s worked in various roles within the organization.
For several years, NBA teams have hired female coaches and executives, but none have actually gone so far as to hire them as head coaches, general managers or team presidents. And while Becky Hammon proved her worth as the highest-paid sideline leader in the WNBA after several years under the guidance of Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs, visions of a woman coaching NBA-caliber players or acting as the lead executive remain cloudy at the moment. Until now.
With women’s sports gaining greater profiles and resources, the idea of a woman coaching men as a way to prove her worth may not hold as much weight as some may give it. That said, the Kings organization see Harding and Ranadive as women who can lead, regardless of their gender. (Although being the owner’s daughter certainly helps Ranadive’s case.)
As the new coach, Harding replaces Bobby Jackson, the former Sixth Man extraordinaire for the early-2000s-era Kings who left the organization to join the 76ers as an assistant coach to newly hired Nick Nurse.
