Kara Lawson

Biography

Former WNBA and three-time Olympic champion Kara Lawson was named Duke University’s sixth women’s basketball head coach July 11, 2020. Lawson enters her sixth season at the helm in 2025-26. An icon in women’s college basketball, Lawson’s impact on the women’s hoops community is evident. Lawson brought her decorated basketball career, both on and off the court, to the Blue Devils after spending the 2020 season as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. She was the franchise’s first female coach in its 73-year history. Additionally, Lawson's playing career has her in a league of her own as she is currently the only active NCAA Division I women’s basketball coach to play in a NCAA Final Four, win a WNBA Championship and win an Olympic Gold Medal. THE KARA ERA Through five seasons at Duke, Lawson has led the resurgence of Duke women’s basketball, elevating the Blue Devils into one of the nation's most elite teams. She has compiled a 97-41 (.703) overall record and is just three wins away from reaching 100 career victories. In those five seasons, Lawson has guided the Blue Devils to three consecutive 20-win seasons and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2024-25 season saw Lawson lead the Blue Devils to an incredibly successful season as Duke compiled a 29-8 overall record, including a 14-4 mark in ACC play, captured the program's ninth ACC Tournament title and advanced to its 12th Elite Eight – all three marking program bests dating back to the 2012-13 campaign. A