Nancy Lieberman leaves Thunder broadcast team to coach

The Sacramento Bee has announced that Nancy Lieberman will soon become an assistant with the Kings. This will make her the only the second woman to become an assistant coach with an NBA team. (The first was Becky Hammon, of the San Antonio Spurs.) Of course, this also means that Nancy Lieberman will not return as a regular member of the Thunder broadcast crew. During the 2014-15 NBA season, Lieberman provided in-studio analysis for most of the Oklahoma City Thunder games that were broadcast on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

Lieberman's presence will certainly be missed on the Thunder broadcasts. It always seemed like Lieberman had a passion for what she was talking about, and genuinely rooted for the players. This wasn't the best season of Thunder basketball to watch, but it was the season where Westbrook got to post ridiculous stats. Lieberman was a big Westbrook supporter the whole way, and seemed to really appreciate the unique brand of athleticism and risk taking he brought. I also like that Lieberman would read into the stats and put effort into understanding each game.

Going into the Kings coaching gig, Lieberman will certainly bring a good amount of experience. Lieberman previously coached the Texas Legends in 2009.  At that time, Lieberman was the first woman to ever coach a professional basketball team. Lieberman also spent a couple of years as an assistant GM with the Legends. Of course, Lieberman brings credentials as a player, as well. In 1979 and 1980, Lieberman was named the best player in women's college basketball.