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Kara Lawson

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Kara Lawson
Duke Blue Devils
PositionHead coach
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (1981-02-14) February 14, 1981 (age 43)
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Listed height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Listed weight68 kg (150 lb)
Career information
High schoolWest Springfield
(Springfield, Virginia)
CollegeTennessee (1999–2003)
WNBA draft2003: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Shock
Playing career2003–2015
PositionPoint guard
Number20
Coaching career2019–present
Career history
As player:
2003–2009Sacramento Monarchs
2010–2013Connecticut Sun
2014–2015Washington Mystics
As coach:
2019–2020Boston Celtics (assistant)
2020–presentDuke
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
World University Games
Gold medal – first place 2001 Beijing Team Competition
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Team competition
Women's 3x3 basketball
Head coach for the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team

Kara Marie Lawson (born February 14, 1981) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team. She played professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and has also been a basketball television analyst for ESPN and the Washington Wizards.[1][2] Lawson primarily played as a shooting guard. She won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, a championship with the Sacramento Monarchs in the 2005 WNBA Finals, and coached the United States women's national 3x3 team to gold in the 2020 Summer Olympics.[3] Lawson retired from the WNBA in 2015 to focus on her broadcasting career.[4] She began her coaching career as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the NBA in 2019.

Playing career

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High school

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Lawson attended Sidwell Friends School her freshman year, then went to West Springfield High School, where she played on the girls' basketball and soccer teams. Lawson was named a WBCA All-American in 1999.[5] Her high school record was 83-2 and won 2 state championships in 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.[6][7]

College career

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Lawson attended the University of Tennessee (UT) and played for the Lady Vols basketball team, coached by Pat Summitt. She enrolled in UT's College of Business, and graduated in 2003 with a degree in finance. Lawson received the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association as the best senior player under 5 ft 8 in (1.7 m).[8] In 2018, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam named Lawson to the board of trustees of the University of Tennessee, the governing body of the UT system.[9] In 2003, Lawson was named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.[10]

WNBA

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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. But five days later, the Shock traded Lawson to the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Kedra Holland-Corn 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 Sacramento Monarchs folded prior to the 2010 WNBA season, but later signed a three-year contract with the Connecticut Sun. On March 12, 2014, Lawson was traded to the Washington Mystics for Alex Bentley, who was originally traded to Washington through the Atlanta Dream.

US national team

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Lawson was selected to be a member of the United States national team at the 2001 World University Games held in Beijing, China. 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.[11]

On July 10, 2008, Lawson was selected to represent the United States with the USA women's national basketball team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. 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.[12]

Lawson was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009.[13] The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics was chosen from these participants. 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), 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, United Kingdom.[14] However, Lawson did not make the final roster.

Playing statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

College

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Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999-00 Tennessee 37 504 45.8 43.6 81.7 4.1 2.8 1.4 0.2 13.6
2000-01 Tennessee 34 386 43.3 41.3 85.7 3.5 3.3 1.0 0.1 11.4
2001-02 Tennessee 34 512 46.6 33.0 83.5 4.9 2.6 1.4 0.1 15.1
2002-03 Tennessee 38 548 46.9 45.0 88.4 4.9 4.0 1.1 0.2 14.4
Career Tennessee 143 1950 45.8 41.5 84.7 4.3 3.2 1.2 0.1 13.6

Source[15]

WNBA

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† Denotes seasons in which Lawson won a WNBA championship

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2003 Sacramento 34 0 22.6 .392 .400 .775 3.1 1.6 0.4 0.1 1.2 7.7
2004 Sacramento 34 10 24.3 .420 .381 .841 2.3 2.0 0.6 0.2 1.6 8.6
2005† Sacramento 24 1 21.2 .439 .444 .839 1.4 1.5 0.5 0.1 0.9 8.0
2006 Sacramento 34 6 22.1 .397 .398 .923 1.9 1.6 0.6 0.1 1.3 8.1
2007 Sacramento 34 0 22.8 .376 .338 .841 2.4 2.0 0.9 0.2 1.4 11.0
2008 Sacramento 32 32 25.9 .405 .432 .914 2.6 2.1 0.9 0.1 1.5 12.2
2009 Sacramento 25 5 24.2 .380 .336 .939 2.1 2.5 0.6 0.0 1.4 8.8
2010 Connecticut 34 32 25.1 .409 .359 .895 2.6 3.5 0.4 0.0 1.4 8.3
2011 Connecticut 33 8 25.2 .449 .430 .890 2.6 2.9 0.7 0.0 1.4 10.4
2012 Connecticut 34 34 31.4 .493 .430 .935 3.9 4.0 0.8 0.1 1.8 15.1
2013 Connecticut 9 6 30.1 .437 .458 .857 3.7 4.2 0.6 0.1 2.4 13.8
2014 Washington 28 4 21.8 .379 .337 .935 2.9 2.5 0.3 0.0 1.3 7.0
2015 Washington 22 21 25.0 .389 .321 .938 3.0 3.6 0.6 0.1 1.1 9.6
Career 13 years, 3 teams 377 159 24.5 .414 .390 .890 2.6 2.5 0.6 0.1 1.4 9.8

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2003 Sacramento 6 0 25.7 .214 .304 .875 3.8 2.7 0.2 0.3 0.7 5.3
2004 Sacramento 6 0 25.5 .370 .417 .889 2.5 1.8 1.3 0.2 0.8 9.7
2005† Sacramento 8 2 26.0 .433 .517 .944 3.6 2.3 1.0 0.1 1.4 11.3
2006 Sacramento 9 9 32.1 .448 .438 .786 3.4 1.6 1.0 0.1 1.3 12.2
2007 Sacramento 3 0 25.0 .500 .385 .857 2.3 3.0 1.0 0.7 0.7 12.3
2008 Sacramento 3 3 27.0 .478 .375 .800 5.0 4.3 0.7 0.0 2.3 9.7
2011 Connecticut 2 0 18.5 .400 .571 .750 0.5 3.5 0.0 0.0 1.5 7.5
2012 Connecticut 5 5 35.0 .442 .433 1.000 4.8 3.8 1.2 0.2 1.8 14.6
2014 Washington 2 0 26.0 .526 .444 1.000 3.0 3.5 0.5 0.0 1.5 14.5
2015 Washington 3 0 16.7 .353 .750 1.000 1.3 0.7 0.3 0.0 1.7 6.0
Career 10 years, 3 teams 47 19 27.1 .413 .436 .897 3.3 2.5 0.8 0.2 1.3 10.4

Broadcasting career

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Lawson began her broadcasting career while still playing in the WNBA. She served as a studio analyst for the Sacramento Kings, and worked her way up to working in a variety of NBA and WNBA broadcast roles for ESPN.[4] 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 took on the Washington Wizards.[1]

In 2017, Lawson was named the primary television game analyst for the Washington Wizards, replacing longtime analyst Phil Chenier as full-time host. She is one of the first primary female TV analysts for an NBA team, joining Sarah Kustok of the Brooklyn Nets.[4]

In 2021, Lawson was a commentator for women's basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[16]

Coaching career

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On June 27, 2019, the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that Lawson would join the team as an assistant coach.[17] During her tenure as assistant coach in the 2019–20 season, Lawson worked closely with Marcus Smart, a defensive-minded point guard, as a shooting coach.[18][19][20]

On July 11, 2020, it was announced that Lawson was hired as the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team.[21][20][22] She brought on Winston Gandy, Tia Jackson, and Beth Cunningham as assistant coaches.[23] 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 pandemic.

In the 2020 Summer Olympics, Lawson coached the USA team to a gold medal in the 3x3 basketball, defeating China 18–15 in the title match.[3][24] In February 2024, she was announced as the assistant coach for the USA Women's Olympic Basketball Team; the 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in July and August.[25]

Lawson credits Pat Summitt with teaching her how to hold players accountable as a coach.[26]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Duke Blue Devils (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2020–present)
2020–21 Duke 3–1 0–1 N/A Opted out due to COVID-19
2021–22 Duke 17–13 7–11 10th
2022–23 Duke 26–7 14–4 T–2nd NCAA Second Round
2023–24 Duke 22–12 11–7 T–7th NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Duke: 68–33 (.673) 32–23 (.582)
Total: 68–33 (.673)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Personal life

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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.[27]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Kara Lawson:College Basketball and NBA Analyst". ESPN.com. April 6, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  2. ^ "Wizards make Kara Lawson one of the first female primary TV analysts for an NBA team - The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ a b "Lady Vols great Kara Lawson coaches USA to gold in 3×3 basketball". WATE 6 On Your Side. July 28, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Steinberg, Dan (September 27, 2017). "Wizards make Kara Lawson one of the first female primary TV analysts for an NBA team". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  5. ^ "Past Teams - High School". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. May 20, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  6. ^ "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  7. ^ "WBCA High School All-America Game Team MVP's". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  8. ^ "Frances Pomeroy Naismith". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  9. ^ "Governor announces 10 appointees on revamped UT Board of Trustees". WATE-TV. April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  10. ^ "Kara Lawson". Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Cox, Matthews, and Associates. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  11. ^ "Twentieth World University Games -- 2001". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  12. ^ "Kara Lawson". USA Basketball. May 20, 2017. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  13. ^ "USA Basketball Women's National Team To Tip-Off Training Tomorrow In D.C." USA Basketball. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  14. ^ "Twenty-One Finalists In The Mix For Final 2012 U.S. Women's Olympic Basketball Team Roster". USA Basketball. February 13, 2012. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  15. ^ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  16. ^ "Record 180 Commentators Join NBC Olympics' Coverage of the Games of the Xxxii Olympiad from Tokyo, Japan". July 20, 2021.
  17. ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian (June 27, 2019). "Celtics hire Kara Lawson to be assistant coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  18. ^ "'Learned the game': How Kara Lawson will use her diverse background at Duke". The Chronicle. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  19. ^ "Who is Kara Lawson? Meet the Duke coach who reportedly is 'prime candidate' for Celtics job". www.sportingnews.com. August 12, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Karalis, John (July 13, 2020). "Kara Lawson on leaving Celtics for Duke: 'It's been an emotional three days'". MassLive. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  21. ^ "Kara Lawson accepts head women's basketball coach position at Duke".
  22. ^ Washburn, Gary (July 14, 2020). "Kara Lawson thought she'd be with the Celtics for a while. Then, a dream job like Duke came calling - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  23. ^ "Kara Lawson's influences: Coach K, Pat Summitt and her father | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  24. ^ "Kara Lawson wins Olympic gold medal as coach of U.S. women's 3x3 basketball team". The Chronicle. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  25. ^ Haley, Ryan (February 14, 2024). "Women's basketball coach Kara Lawson announced as assistant for U.S. Olympic team". USA Today. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  26. ^ "What's the best lesson Duke women's basketball coach Kara Lawson learned from mentor Pat Summitt?". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  27. ^ Voisin, Ailene (October 28, 2017). "Snubbed by Kings, Kara Lawson gets last word with Wizards. How she's making history". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
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