The Cleveland Cavaliers have hired Cal women's basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb as an assistant coach, the Cavs announced on Wednesday.
“Lindsay Gottlieb will be a great addition to Coach Beilein’s and Coach Bickerstaff’s group," Cavs general manager Koby Altman said. "She has an extensive track record of success and growth with her teams and players and has also been a strong culture-driver as a core part of that,” said Altman. “The more we researched and got to know Lindsay, the more we came to understand that she would be an impactful part of where we want to go as a team. Coach Gottlieb brings a depth of basketball knowledge, leadership, perspective and approach to her craft that will fit very well with our team and staff alike. We’re fortunate that she was willing to leave her role as Head Coach at such a solid and successful program at Cal.”
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Gottlieb's impressive résumé includes eight years as the University of California, Berkeley women's basketball head coach where she led the Golden Bears to an overall 179-89 record. Those 179 wins are the second-most by any head coach in Cal women's basketball history. She also led Cal to seven overall NCAA tournament appearances, which included the program's first-ever Elite Eight and Final Four appearances in 2013.
She was just the seventh NCAA women's coach to reach the Final Four within the first two seasons leading a program.
She also holds over ten years of Division I head coaching experience with Cal and UC Santa Barbara, where she led the Gauchos to two Big West Championships. Gottlieb was also named Big West Coach of the Year in 2009.
“I am very thankful, proud and excited to be joining the Cavaliers as an Assistant Coach. After meeting with Koby Altman, Coach Beilein and Coach Bickerstaff, I knew this was an organization I wanted to be a part of and a team I wanted to dedicate myself to,” Gottlieb said. “While this move provided a unique and special chance to move directly from Cal Berkeley and women’s college basketball to the NBA, it was really about being part of building and growing something special and adding value to a team and organization that is focused on doing things in a way that I believe strongly in.”
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According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Gottlieb has also been a frequent visitor to Warriors practices as a guest of general manager Bob Myers and head coach Steve Kerr.
She joins San Antonio Spurs' assistant coach Becky Hammon as the second woman to actively hold coaching duties in the NBA. Wojnarowski reports that Gottlieb is believed to be the eighth woman to hold either an assistant coaching or player development role for an NBA team.
