Cavaliers Reportedly Hire Cal Women's Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb as Assistant
By Michael Luciano
Long regarded as a rising star in the women's college basketball ranks, Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb is making the jump to the pros.
Former Michigan and new Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Beilein has named Gottlieb an assistant on his staff, as the movement climbs one prominent step further.
In a landmark appointment for the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers are hiring University of California-Berkeley women’s head coach Lindsay Gottlieb to be an assistant coach on John Beilein’s staff, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 12, 2019
After playing for four years for Ivy League power Brown, Gottlieb had been an assistant coach at the collegiate level since 1999, with stops at Syracuse, Richmond, and Cal. After being named associate head coach for the 2007 season, Gottlieb left for UC Santa Barbara, where she led the Gauchos to two postseason appearances in three years.
Gottlieb has been a huge success in her return to Berkeley, making the NCAA tournament in all but one campaign, and advancing to the Final Four in the 2012-13 season.
Gottlieb, who is the first women's college coach to make the jump to the NBA, will become the sixth female assistant coach in either the NBA or the G League, joining the likes of Mavericks player development coach Jenny Boucek, Clippers assistant Natalie Nakase, and Spurs assistant Becky Hammon.
Got to know Lindsay Gottlieb a little bit during my time on the Cal beat. She’ll do well in the NBA. https://t.co/AAWSwbz7Al
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) June 12, 2019
One look at Gottlieb's resume proves that she can coach. While the jump from college to the pros is difficult for a coach of any gender, Gottlieb has the Xs and Os mastery necessary to make the transition as seamless as possible.