On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that former WNBA player turned coach Lindsey Harding would be their head coach for the NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas. In a press release, the team said, “Los Angeles Lakers Assistant Coach Beau Levesque will serve as head coach in San Francisco, and Assistant Coach Lindsey Harding will serve as head coach in Las Vegas.”
Lindsey Harding – First Woman Assistant Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers
Harding made history in 2024 when she became the first woman to be hired as an assistant coach by the Lakers. She took on this role after a successful 2023-24 season in the G-League as the head coach of the Stockton Kings. Harding led the team to a 24-10 overall record and the Conference Finals, winning the 2023-24 NBA G League Coach of the Year award.
Before she turned coach, Harding played in 270 games for six teams. She was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury but was traded to the Minnesota Lynx in a draft-night deal. One of Harding’s best seasons in the league came in 2009 for the Washington Mystics when she averaged 12.8 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals.
Before she entered the WNBA, Harding was a superstar in college for Duke. As a senior, she earned Naismith National Player of the Year and WBCA Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2007. The former guard still holds the record of being the leader in career assists for the Blue Devils with 579.
In 2016, Harding helped the Belarus national team qualify for the Olympics and became Duke’s first-ever women’s basketball player to compete at the quadrennial sporting extravaganza. In her international career for Belarus that began in the EuroBasket Women’s tournament in 2015, she averaged 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists.
After her playing days, she became a player development coach and pro personnel scout for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2018-19 season. She then embarked on a successful tenure holding the positions of assistant coach and player development coach with the Sacramento Kings for four seasons, from 2019 to 2023.
In 2024, when the Charlotte Hornets were searching for a new head coach, they interviewed Harding before eventually choosing Charles Lee. In December 2024, WNBA reporter Mitchell Northam revealed that Harding was among the top candidates for the Washington Mystics HC job; however, the team eventually hired Sydney Johnson.
Harding and her Lakers team will begin their campaign in the NBA 2K26 Summer league with a clash against the Dallas Mavericks on July 10, followed by games against the New Orleans Pelicans and the LA Clippers on July 12 and 14. They will then face off against the Boston Celtics on July 17. Based on the results of these games, they will either play in the league’s semifinals or feature in consolation games between July 18 and 20.
