After hanging up her official coach’s whistle, Nancy is now focused on sharing critical moments of her life with others. Her efforts building “Dream” basketball courts in underprivileged neighborhoods has proven to her, once again, the value of forging relationships that enhance trust, restore relationships or create meaningful connections.
With success comes scrutiny, pressure and threats. As the first female NBA coach, Nancy has an unparalleled perspective on the good, the bad and the beautiful of taking the road less traveled and making course-changing decisions.
From taking the New York City subway as a little girl, to playing basketball at Harlem’s legendary Rucker Park, to taking cross-country flights to coach the Sacramento Kings, Nancy has earned street credibility in every sense of the phrase. In this honest talk, Nancy will share with you her journey of being accepted in a men’s locker room with the greats of the game, and her diversity insights along the way.
If winning isn’t important, why do we play with a scoreboard? Whether faced with annual planning after a record-breaking year or dealing with organizational change, you need a leader’s mindset to create a winnable game plan -- and a coach’s spirit to secure team buy-in. Nancy has enjoyed the glory of victory and the pain of defeat, and she shares her own lessons learned on how to help a team rally around one mission.
Nancy has never done anything the “normal” way. At age 18, she became the youngest basketball player to win a medal in the Olympics. At age 50, she broke her own oldest player record by coming out of retirement to play for the Detroit Shock. But she has not accomplished greatness alone. In her locker room stories spanning four decades, she shares stories about, and lessons learned from, the meaningful relationships she’s enjoyed as part of a team.
• Travel from: Dallas
• Available to provide: 45- to 60-minute keynote
• Available to serve as: Event Emcee, corporate trainer, awards presenter, commencement speaker