JJ Redick's lack of coaching experience was highlighted as a potential weakness when he was hired by the Lakers in June, but he worked to make up for it by bringing in Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan as his top assistants.
Now he's adding another highly-touted coach to the mix.
The Lakers are hiring Kings G League head coach Lindsey Harding as an assistant, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, adding her to a staff that includes Brooks, McMillan and Greg St. Jean.
Coaching is going to be critical for the Lakers next season given their quiet offseason. Los Angeles hasn't seriously tinkered with its core, instead pinning its hopes on Redick and his staff to usher in improvements Darvin Ham couldn't. Harding could be a significant part of that effort.
Here's what you need to know about Harding and her connection to Redick.
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Who is Lindsey Harding?
Harding spent the last season as the head coach of the G League's Stockton Kings, an affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. She has also served as head coach of the Mexico women's national basketball team since 2022.
Harding has enjoyed a quick rise, as she's just 49 years old and only finished up a 10-year WNBA career in 2016. A point guard drafted first overall out of Duke in 2007, Harding split her 10 seasons with six different teams and was the runner-up for WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2007.
Harding averaged 9.8 points and 4.0 assists per game in the WNBA, starting 210 of 270 games. She played in the 2011 WNBA Finals with the Atlanta Dream.
After the end of her playing career, Harding worked in player development and scouting for the 76ers in 2018-19 and later joined the Sacramento Kings as a player development coach. Her connection to Sacramento made her an obvious fit for the organization's G League affiliate.
The Stockton Kings finished 24-10 in Harding's first season on the job, earning her G League Coach of the Year honors in April. She became the first woman to win the award, putting her back on NBA radars. Harding even earned an interview for the Hornets' head coaching job in the spring, though it ultimately went to Charles Lee.
The NBA is still searching for its first female head coach, and it feels inevitable that the league will have one soon. With this step, Harding could very well be on track to become the first.
Lindsey Harding's connection to JJ Redick
Harding is a rising star in the coaching industry, but it certainly helps that she has real familiarity with Redick. Her time at Duke overlapped with Redick's in the early 2000s, and she was part of Doc Rivers' staff in Philadelphia when Redick played for the 76ers.
Redick has already loaded up on experience by hiring Brooks and McMillan, and he clearly has someone he can trust in Harding as he starts his own NBA coaching career.
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Lakers coaching staff 2024-25
- Head coach: JJ Redick
- Assistant: Scott Brooks
- Assistant: Lindsey Harding
- Assistant: Nate McMillan
- Assistant: Greg St. Jean
Redick has added four assistants to his first-ever NBA coaching staff, with Harding joining Scott Brooks, Nate McMillan and Greg St. Jean.
Brooks has 12 seasons of NBA head coaching experience between the Thunder and Wizards, highlighted by five consecutive playoff appearances and a trip to the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City.
McMillan has 19 seasons of NBA head coaching experience, with stops in Seattle, Portland, Indiana and Atlanta. McMillan has a career record of 760-668 and reached the playoffs in nine of his last 11 seasons as a head coach.
St. Jean served as an assistant for the Lakers under Frank Vogel before joining Jason Kidd's staff in Dallas and reuniting with Vogel in Phoenix last season. A member of the 2020 championship staff, St. Jean returning to the Lakers as one of Redick's key assistants.
