Dream RoleIn September, Nakase began a yearlong internship with the Los Angeles Clippers. She works for the team's video coordinator, in the same kind of NBA entry-level position once held by Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown and Portland Trail Blazers assistant Kaleb Canales. (There has been only one woman in NBA history to work as a video coordinator: Trish McGhee, who was laid off by the Memphis Grizzlies because of the lockout of 2011.)Billy King, general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, says he thinks the NBA will employ a female assistant coach within the next 10 years. But, King cautions, the hire must be made by an established head coach with the full respect of his players, and the woman in question must be better than good -- as is usually the case for someone breaking down barriers. "Whenever you're the first, people don't want to see you succeed," King says. "I think there would be a lot of cruel jokes made behind closed doors, and there would be a lot of people trying to make sure it didn't work."In her two seasons in Japan, Nakase came to believe her approach to basketball was best suited to coaching men at the professional level. She possesses a time-is-money focus, an utter disdain for inefficiency. When she steps onto the court, she wants to squeeze improvement out of every minute. And, although the NBA is notorious for distributing fat, guaranteed contracts that can result in complacency, the bulk of the league's players still need to improve daily as a matter of job security -- the kind of high-stakes climate Nakase thrives on. "I don't have time for messing around," she says. "It's like, 'Do you want to get better or don't you?'"Denver Nuggets forward Andre Iguodala, who has been in the league since 2004, offers a similar take. "If a female coach knows the game, veteran players would respond well," he says. "All we want is someone who knows the game."
And that's exactly what Nakase had to prove to the Clippers.Nakase showed up early and took scrupulous notes. When Severns introduced her to Raman Sposato, the team's video coordinator, Sposato asked her what she was hoping to do in the NBA. Seeing a sliver of an opening, Nakase darted through. "Actually," she said, "I want to do what you're doing." (Hill had long counseled Nakase that she likely would have to start as a video intern to prove herself and learn the league from the inside out.)After a few days, Del Negro walked over to Nakase, intrigued to discover just what, exactly, she had been so thoroughly detailing. He asked whether he could see her notes. She handed them over. Del Negro looked down, absorbing it all for a few moments. Then he looked at Nakase.
"You've got the job," he said.
Kate Fagan, ESPN
Very interesting read.
