Duke Hires Former-Celtics Assistant Coach, Kara Lawson, as Women’s Basketball Head Coach

The former Boston Celtics assistant coach Kara Lawson will replace Joanne McCallie as the next women’s basketball head coach at Duke.

McCallie resigned earlier this month after spending 13 years as the head coach. McCallie led Duke to a 330-107 record in her time there and earned ACC Coach of the Year honors 3 times.

Lawson is the second assistant coach to leave an NBA assistant coach job for women’s college basketball. Former-Grizzlies assistant coach, Niele Ivey, left the NBA to coach at Notre Dame.

Prior to coaching, Lawson was a WNBA star. Lawson spent 12 years in the WNBA from 2003-2015 and won one championship with the Sacramento Monarch. Lawson also won a gold medal at the Olympics in 2008.

After the WNBA, Lawson moved to broadcasting. While working in broadcasting, there were rumors that she was a candidate for different coaching jobs before ultimately accepting an assistant coaching job with the Boston Celtics.