Kara Lawson
Kara Lawson, former WNBA champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist, recently completed her sixth season as head coach of the Duke women’s basketball team. Since taking over the reins in 2020, she has restored the Blue Devils to national prominence, compiling a 124–50 record, four straight 20-win seasons, consecutive ACC Tournament crowns and Elite Eight runs in 2025 and 2026. This past season, Lawson added a trio of firsts to her coaching resume as she guided the Blue Devils to the 2025-26 ACC regular season title, garnered her first ACC Coach of the Year honor and helped Duke earn a No. 5 final ranking by the Associated Press.
Outside of Duke basketball, 2025-26 was a big year for Lawson as she was named the head coach of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team through 2028. She will lead the women at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin, Germany and at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California.
A trailblazer on and off the court, Lawson arrived at Duke after becoming the first female coach in Boston Celtics history in 2020. She remains the only active NCAA Division I women’s coach to play in a Final Four, win a WNBA title and earn Olympic gold. She has won 13 gold medals with USA Basketball as both a player and coach, highlighted by guiding the U.S. 3×3 women’s team to Olympic gold in 2021 and helping Team USA capture gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Lawson’s success as a player speaks for itself. A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Lawson played her collegiate basketball for the legendary Pat Summit at Tennessee where she was a two-time All-American and four-time All-SEC selection while leading the Lady Vols to three Final Fours. She went on to play 13 seasons in the WNBA, winning a championship with Sacramento in 2005 and earning All-Star honors in 2007.
In addition to her success on the court, Lawson spent 17 years as a broadcaster, serving as a game and studio analyst for the Washington Wizards with NBC Sports Washington, as well as for men’s and women’s college basketball and the NBA with ESPN. On January 12th, 2007, she became the first female analyst for a nationally televised NBA game when the New Orleans Hornets squared off against the Washington Wizards. Lawson also served as a color announcer during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo with NBC.
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