One on One with NBA Assistant Coach Kara Lawson

Listen

“When I was a kid, I wanted to be an NBA player,” said Boston Celtics assistant coach Kara Lawson in an interview with Babson Athletics. “At the time, there wasn’t a WNBA, there weren’t many women’s professional sports … there were very few women in society making a living for being an athlete. … (But) I just loved basketball.”

This love would lead her to play for the University of Tennessee, where she earned all-conference honors in each of her four seasons, and then on to 13 WNBA seasons, averaging nearly 10 points per game with the Sacramento Monarchs, Connecticut Sun, and Washington Mystics.

In 2008, Lawson won a gold medal with Team USA at the Beijing Olympics.

In June of this year, Lawson was named assistant coach of the Boston Celtics, joining just a handful of other female coaches in the NBA.

Lawson came to Babson as part of Women’s Entrepreneurship Week as a shining example of the impact and potential of women disruptors in any industry.

Kara Lawson at Babson College
Kara Lawson with Babson students during Women’s Entrepreneurship Week.

An Industry Turnover

“I played with the guys at recess when I was in 2nd and 3rd grade … and beat them all,” shared Lawson. “So, why when I got older, wouldn’t I be able to just do the same and play in the NBA? The goal was always just to play as long as I could.”

When asked what she would say to a young girl who wants to follow in her footsteps, her response was simple: “Great, do it,” she said.

“I think everyone feels that the tide is turning, not just in basketball, but in professional sports. That little girl that comes up to me today is going to have a better opportunity, a greater chance … the ability to take it farther than I have because that’s kind of how you hope society evolves as you get older. The generation behind you has a chance to do even more,” said Lawson.

But, with disruption, comes responsibility. Lawson takes this on with great discipline.

“I do feel (that) I have a responsibility to perform well because there still are more women worthy of the opportunity that I have, that haven’t been given it yet,” she said. “The way I think you help do that is, you succeed, and you perform well, and you bring value … hopefully that example shows other teams not just in the NBA, in other sports, that having a woman on your coaching staff is something that really adds to the success of your organization.”

Video courtesy of Babson Athletics.

Posted in Community, Insights

More from Community »

Latest Stories

Three photos in a side-by-side collage depict Michael Kopelman coaching, Brady Anderson in action, and the doubles team celebrating
Courting Success: How Babson Tennis Teams Transformed into National Powerhouses With championships and top-tier recruiting classes, Babson Director of Tennis Michael Kopelman has overseen the transformation of the men’s and women’s programs into national powerhouses.
By
Scott Dietz
Writer
Scott Dietz
Scott Dietz is Babson College's Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications. Dietz is responsible for the department's internal and external communications, including branding, campus engagement, marketing, social media, sponsorships and website management. Additional duties consist of event coverage, facilitation of interview requests, media pitching, video content, writing and editing. Before Babson, Dietz spent 13-plus years at fellow NEWMAC institution Wheaton College, worked for the NFL, New England Patriots, and in the media relations department with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. A native of South Park, PA, Dietz began his sports information career at Westminster College.
September 2, 2025

Posted in Community

Babson Build students from HBCUs participate in an exercise in the Weissman Foundry
An Entrepreneurial Summer: How Babson Impacts Communities Year-Round The school year may be over, but Babson’s work of educating entrepreneurial leaders doesn’t stop. In the summer, many entrepreneurs, educators, and leaders descend on campus. They come from around the globe to connect and to learn. What they take away from the College can impact their companies, their classrooms, and their communities.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
August 29, 2025

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership

Juan “JC” Grullon ’27 and Ty Bradford ’29 shake hands outside Publishers Hall
Publishers Hall Welcomes First-Year Students to Its Cozy Confines During move-in day, a new crop of first-year students made Publishers Hall their home. The small residence hall, built over a century ago, is known for the tight-knit communities that form there.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
August 28, 2025

Posted in Community