Kara Marie Lawson (born February 14, 1981) is the head coach of the

Duke Blue Devils women's basketball The Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing Duke University in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I. Team history In 1974, Duke hired Emma Jean Howard to teach physical education, and t ...

team. She is a former American professional

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

player in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA) and a basketball television analyst for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. Lawson primarily played as a

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

. She won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, a championship with the Sacramento Monarchs in the 2005 WNBA Finals, and coached the

United States women's national 3x3 team The USA Women's 3x3 Teams are two of the teams under the auspices of the USA Basketball organization. In 2007, FIBA decided to start championships for the 3x3 event (also called three-on-three), starting in 2010. Two events are held, one for ath ...

to gold in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. Lawson retired from the WNBA in 2015 to focus on her broadcasting career. She began her coaching career as an assistant coach for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

in 2019.

Player career

High school

Lawson attended

Sidwell Friends School Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' ( en, Let the light shine out from all), al ...

her freshman year, then went to West Springfield High School, where she played on the girls'

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

teams. Lawson was named a WBCA All-American. Her high school record was 83-2 and won 2 State Championships her sophomore and senior years with a perfect 30-0 record. She participated in the 1999 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored twenty points, and earned MVP honors. Naismith Player of the Year

College career

Lawson attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

(UT) and played for the Lady Vols basketball team, coached by

Pat Summitt Patricia Susan Summitt (; June 14, 1952 – June 28, 2016) was an American women's college basketball head coach who accrued 1,098 career wins, the most in college basketball history at the time of her retirement. She served as the head coac ...

. She enrolled in UT's College of Business, and graduated in 2003 with a degree in Finance. Lawson received the

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor shorter-than-average players who excelled on the court despite their size. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-la ...

from the

Women's Basketball Coaches Association The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches. The mission of the WBCA ...

as the best senior player under 5 ft 8 in (1.7 m). In 2018, Tennessee Governor

Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...

named Lawson to the board of trustees of the University of Tennessee, the governing body of the UT system. In 2003, Lawson was named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar by ''Diverse: Issues In Higher Education''.

WNBA

On April 24, 2003, Lawson was selected as the fifth overall pick by the Detroit Shock in the first round of the

2003 WNBA draft The 2003 WNBA draft, both the dispersal draft and the regular WNBA draft, took place on April 24. The dispersal draft involved players from the rosters of the Portland Fire and Miami Sol teams which had both folded after the 2002 season. For that ...

. But five days later, the Shock traded Lawson to the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena. The Mona ...

in exchange for

Kedra Holland-Corn Kedra Holland-Corn (born November 5, 1974) is an American professional women's basketball player with the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After attending the University of Georgia, she played for the Sacramen ...

and a 2004 second-round draft pick. Two years later, Lawson would be a key member of the Monarchs 2005 championship team. Lawson was a free agent when the

folded prior to the

2010 WNBA season The 2010 WNBA season was the 14th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began with a televised (ESPN2) meeting between the defending champion Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks in Phoenix, Arizona on M ...

, but later signed a three-year contract with the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

. On March 12, 2014, Lawson was traded to the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

for

Alex Bentley Alexandria Marie Bentley (born October 27, 1990) is an American professional basketball player. She played college basketball at Pennsylvania State University. She represents the Belarus national team internationally. Early life She was born a ...

, who was originally traded to Washington through the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

US national team

Lawson was selected to be a member of the United States national team at the 2001 World University Games held in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. After winning the opening game easily, the USA team faced Canada and lost a close game 68–67. Needing a win to remain in medal contention, Lawson scored 25 points to help the USA team defeat Japan, and earn a spot in the quarterfinals. The USA team fell behind by 12 points against undefeated Russia, but came back to win the game by eleven points. The next game was against the unbeaten host team China, and the USA team won 89–78. The USA team won their next two games to set up the gold medal game; a rematch against the host team. China would stay close early, but the USA team prevailed and won the gold medal with a score of 87–67. Lawson was the third leading scorer on the team with 12.0 points per game and led the team in assists and steal with 16 assists and 12 steals over the course of the event. On July 10, 2008, Lawson was selected to represent the United States with the

USA women's national basketball team The USA Basketball Women's National Team, commonly known as the United States women's national basketball team, is governed by USA Basketball and competes in FIBA Americas. The team is by far the most successful in international women's basketba ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. She helped the United States capture the gold medal, and led the team in points (15) during the gold medal game against Australia, going a perfect 5-5 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. Lawson was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to

Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrat ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational. Lawson was one of 21 finalists for the U.S. Women's Olympic Basketball Team Roster. The 20 professional women's basketball players, plus one collegiate player (

Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...

), were selected by the USA Basketball Women's National Team Player Selection Committee to compete for the final roster to represent the US at the 2012 Olympics in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. However, Lawson did not make the final roster.

Player statistics

College

Source

WNBA

Regular season

, - , style='text-align:left;',

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 34 , , 0 , , 22.6 , , .392 , , .400 , , .775 , , 3.1 , , 1.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 1.2 , , 7.7 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 34 , , 10 , , 24.3 , , .420 , , .381 , , .841 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 1.6 , , 8.6 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 24 , , 1 , , 21.2 , , .439 , , .444 , , .839 , , 1.4 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 0.9 , , 8.0 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 34 , , 6 , , 22.1 , , .397 , , .398 , , .923 , , 1.9 , , 1.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 1.3 , , 8.1 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 34 , , 0 , , 22.8 , , .376 , , .338 , , .841 , , 2.4 , , 2.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 1.4 , , 11.0 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 32 , , 32 , , 25.9 , , .405 , , .432 , , .914 , , 2.6 , , 2.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 1.5 , , 12.2 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 25 , , 5 , , 24.2 , , .380 , , .336 , , .939 , , 2.1 , , 2.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , , 8.8 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, style='text-align:left;',

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, 34 , , 32 , , 25.1 , , .409 , , .359 , , .895 , , 2.6 , , 3.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , , 8.3 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, style='text-align:left;',

, 33 , , 8 , , 25.2 , , .449 , , .430 , , .890 , , 2.6 , , 2.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , , 10.4 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, style='text-align:left;',

, 34 , , 34 , , 31.4 , , .493 , , .430 , , .935 , , 3.9 , , 4.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 1.8 , , 15.1 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, style='text-align:left;',

, 9 , , 6 , , 30.1 , , .437 , , .458 , , .857 , , 3.7 , , 4.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 2.4 , , 13.8 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style='text-align:left;',

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 28 , , 4 , , 21.8 , , .379 , , .337 , , .935 , , 2.9 , , 2.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.3 , , 7.0 , - , style='text-align:left;',

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, style='text-align:left;',

, 22 , , 21 , , 25.0 , , .389 , , .321 , , .938 , , 3.0 , , 3.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 1.1 , , 9.6 , - , style='text-align:left;', Career , style='text-align:left;', 13 years, 3 teams , 377 , , 159 , , 24.5 , , .414 , , .390 , , .890 , , 2.6 , , 2.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 1.4 , , 9.8

Playoffs

, - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 6 , , 0 , , 25.7 , , .214 , , .304 , , .875 , , 3.8 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 5.3 , - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 6 , , 0 , , 25.5 , , .370 , , .417 , , .889 , , 2.5 , , 1.8 , , 8.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.8 , , 9.7 , - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 8 , , 2 , , 26.0 , , .433 , , .517 , , .944 , , 3.6 , , 2.3 , , 8.0 , , 0.1 , , 1.4 , , 11.3 , - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 9 , , 9 , , 32.1 , , .448 , , .438 , , .786 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , 9.0 , , 0.1 , , 1.3 , , 12.2 , - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 25.0 , , .500 , , .385 , , .857 , , 2.3 , , 3.0 , , 3.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 12.3 , - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 3 , , 3 , , 27.0 , , .478 , , .375 , , .800 , , 5.0 , , 4.3 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.3 , , 9.7 , - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

, 2 , , 0 , , 18.5 , , .400 , , .571 , , .750 , , 0.5 , , 3.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , , 7.5 , - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

, 5 , , 5 , , 35.0 , , .442 , , .433 , , 1.000 , , 4.8 , , 3.8 , , 6.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.8 , , 14.6 , - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

, 2 , , 0 , , 26.0 , , .526 , , .444 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , , 14.5 , - , style='text-align:left;',

, style='text-align:left;',

, 3 , , 0 , , 16.7 , , .353 , , .750 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.7 , , 6.0 , - , style='text-align:left;', Career , style='text-align:left;', 10 years, 3 teams , 47 , , 19 , , 27.1 , , .413 , , .436 , , .897 , , 3.3 , , 2.5 , , 39.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.3 , , 10.4

Broadcasting career

Lawson began her broadcasting career while still playing in the WNBA. She served as a studio analyst for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, and worked her way up to working in a variety of NBA and WNBA broadcast roles for ESPN. On January 12, 2007, she was the first woman to work as a nationwide broadcast analyst for an NBA game, when the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

took on the

. In 2017, Lawson was named the primary television game analyst for the Washington Wizards, replacing longtime analyst

Phil Chenier Philip Chenier (born October 30, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for ten seasons. He was also a television sports broadcaster for the NBA's Washingto ...

as full-time host. She is one of the first primary female TV analysts for an NBA team, joining

Sarah Kustok Sarah Grace Kustok ( ; born December 17, 1981) is an American sports reporter who works for the YES Network and Fox Sports. In 2017, she became the first female full-time analyst for an NBA team's local TV broadcasts, when the YES Network promote ...

of the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

. In 2021, Lawson was a commentator for women's basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Coaching career

On June 27, 2019, the

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) announced that Lawson would join the team as an assistant coach. During her tenure as assistant coach in the 2019–20 season, Lawson worked closely with

Marcus Smart Marcus Osmond Smart (born March 6, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Smart was drafted with the ...

, a defensive-minded point guard, as a shooting coach. On July 11, 2020, it was announced that Lawson was hired as the head coach of the

team. Her first season as head coach lasted four games after the decision to end the season in late December 2020 due to concerns over the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Lawson is married to Damien Barling, whom she met while working in Sacramento soon after the Monarchs' WNBA championship win. They were married in April 2008. Barling is a radio broadcaster in the Sacramento area for ESPN 1320. He also interviewed Lawson on his show following her officially being named as color analyst.

Notes

External links

WNBA Player Profile
*WNBA career statistics fro
Kara Lawson's ESPN Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Kara 1981 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Virginia Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Virginia Boston Celtics assistant coaches College basketball announcers in the United States Connecticut Sun players Duke Blue Devils women's basketball coaches Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics National Basketball Association broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Point guards Sacramento Monarchs players Sportspeople from Alexandria, Virginia Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball players Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball Washington Mystics players Washington Wizards announcers Women's college basketball announcers in the United States Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars Medalists at the 2001 Summer Universiade United States women's national basketball team players