 Lieberman in 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1958-07-01)July 1, 1958 (age 66) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Far Rockaway (New York City, New York) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Old Dominion (1976–1980) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 1997: 2 (Elite) round, 15th overall pick | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Phoenix Mercury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1980–1987, 1997, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Point guard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1998–2000, 2009–2011, 2015–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As a player: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1981, 1984 | Dallas Diamonds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Springfield Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | Long Island Knights | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Phoenix Mercury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Detroit Shock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As a coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Detroit Shock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Texas Legends | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Sacramento Kings (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As player:
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Stats atBasketball Reference  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basketball Hall of Fame | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Nancy Ilizabeth Lieberman (born July 1, 1958), nicknamed "Lady Magic", is an American former professionalbasketball player and coach in theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) who is currently a broadcaster for theOklahoma City Thunder of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) as well as the head coach ofPower, a team in theBIG3 which she led to its 2018 Championship.[1][2] Lieberman is regarded as one of the greatest figures in American women's basketball.[3][4]
In 2000, she was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame. Lieberman is a member of theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame,[5] theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame,[6] the St. Louis Jewish Sports Hall of Fame,[7] and theVirginia Sports Hall of Fame.[8]
Lieberman was born inBrooklyn, New York, to Jerome and Renee Lieberman. She is Jewish (and described herself as "just a poor, skinny, redheaded Jewish girl from Queens").[9][10] Her family lived in Brooklyn when she was born, but soon moved toFar Rockaway, Queens, where she grew up with her older brother Clifford.[11] She lost great-grandparents inthe Holocaust, and her paternal grandparents, who survived, had concentration camp numbers on their wrists.[12]
Her mother brought up the children after a separation and divorce.[13] While growing up, she was interested in a variety of sports, playing baseball, softball and football with boys, before settling on basketball as her primary sport.[13] She played basketball primarily on pickup teams with boys, not playing on a girls' team until she was a high school sophomore.[13]
Lieberman's mother Renee was not supportive of her daughter's interest in basketball. Once, when Lieberman was practicingdribbling techniques indoors because it was cold outside, her mother demanded she stop dribbling because of all the noise. When she did not stop, her mother punctured the basketball with a screwdriver. Lieberman found another ball and continued, but her mother punctured that one as well. This continued until five balls were ruined. Lieberman then decided she had better go outside before she ran out of basketballs.[14]
While attendingFar Rockaway High School inQueens, she established herself as one of the top women's basketball players in the country by earning one of the 12 coveted slots on the USA's National Team. In 1975, while still in her teens, Lieberman was named to the USA Team designated to play in the World Championships andPan American Games, where the team won agold medal.[15]
During the school year, she played for her high school team, but in the summer, played with anAmateur Athletic Union team in Harlem, the New York Chuckles.[16]
She told formerKnickWalt Frazier that he was her hero and that it was because of him that she wore No. 10, saying: "You might not even know this, but you thought you were affecting young guys but you were affecting young, white Jewish women, not just boys."[17]
Lieberman originally was a verbal commitment toCanisius University before being heavily recruited byOld Dominion University inNorfolk, Virginia, where she attended from 1976 to 1980 and played on the women's basketball team there.[18] During that time, she and her team won two consecutiveAIAW National Championships (1979, 1980)[19] and one WNIT (Women's National Invitation Tournament) Championship in 1978. She was the first two-time winner of the prestigiousWade Trophy,[20] a national player of the year award in college women's basketball, and was selected as theBroderick Award winner for basketball as the top women's player in America.[21] Lieberman also won three consecutive KodakAll-America awards (1978, '79, '80).[22] Lieberman was one of six young adults to win theYoung American Award from theBoy Scouts of America in 1980.[23]
Lieberman earned the nickname "Lady Magic," a nod toEarvin "Magic" Johnson of NBA fame.[24] Lieberman set a school record for career assists (961) that still stands today. She led the team in assists each of the four years she was on the team—in her sophomore year she averaged 8.9 per game.[25] Lieberman amassed 2,430 points along with 1,167 rebounds in her collegiate career, producing an average of 18.1 points per game.[25] Lieberman achieved a triple double (40 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists) againstNorfolk State in her sophomore year.[25] Lieberman stole the ball 562 times and assisted a basket 961 times in her college career, believed to be modern records.[13] She is the holder of several single-game and single-season records, including best free-throw shooting percentage in her freshman and sophomore years.[25]
Lieberman earned her degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Old Dominion University on May 6, 1980.[26] She was inducted into the ODU Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.[27]
In 1980 she was selected with the first pick in theWomen's Pro Basketball League (WBL) draft by theDallas Diamonds.[28][29][30] She helped Dallas to the 1981 WBL finals, where they lost to the Nebraska Wranglers in five games.[31] She was named the "rookie of the year", after averaging 26.3 points per game.[32] Lieberman's WBL career is featured in the bookMad Seasons: The Story of the First Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978–1981.
In 1981, she played for theLos Angeles LakersSummer Pro League team.[33]
In 1984, she once again suited up for the Dallas Diamonds, signing a three-year, $250,000 contract with the team to play in theWomen's American Basketball Association (WABA).[32] Averaging 27 points per game and voted the league's Most Valuable Player, she helped Dallas win the 1984 WABA championship, but the league folded after the season.[34] The final game played was between the Diamonds and the WABAAll-Stars, where Lieberman scored 19 points and was named the game's MVP in the Diamonds' 101–94 victory.[35]
In 1986, Lieberman signed with theSpringfield Fame of the men's professionalUnited States Basketball League (USBL)[36] where she went on to average 1.7 points in 11 minutes per game.[29] She remained in the league the following season, playing for theLong Island Knights.[citation needed] Later, she toured with theWashington Generals, who served as the regular opponent of theHarlem Globetrotters, where she met her future husband, teammate Tim Cline.[32]
She was elected to theBasketball Hall of Fame[5] as a player in 1996 and to theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame[6] in 1999.
In the newly formedWNBA's inaugural year in 1997, Lieberman played for thePhoenix Mercury.[37] At the age of 39, she was the WNBA's oldest player.[4] On July 24, 2008, at 50 years old, Lieberman signed a seven-day contract with the eventual WNBA ChampionDetroit Shock,[38] breaking her own previous record as the oldest player in league history and returning to the franchise she coached a decade prior.
That same day, the Shock played a game against theHouston Comets where Lieberman saw playing time. Lieberman recorded two assists in nine minutes of playing time, but Detroit lost the game 79–61.[39] This ended up being her final WNBA game, as she was waived the next day on July 25, 2008.[40]
At age 17, Lieberman was named to the USA Basketball team roster. She played for the team in the 1975USA Women's Pan American Team, three years younger than the next youngest teammates.[41] The games were held in Mexico City, Mexico in October. The Pan Am team had failed to win the gold in 1967 and 1971. In 1975, the team was more successful, compiling a 7–0 record, and winning the gold medal for the first time since 1963.[41]
Lieberman continued with the USA team to the 1976 Olympics inMontreal in the first women's Olympic basketball team competition.[42] Shortly after turning 18, Lieberman became the youngest basketball player in Olympic history to win a medal, when the United States captured the silver medal.[43]
Lieberman was named to the team representing the US at the 1979William Jones Cup competition inTaipei. The USA team won all six games on the way to the gold medal. Lieberman earned a spot on the Jones Cup All-Tournament Team[44]
Lieberman played with the team at the 1979 Pan American games inSan Juan, Puerto Rico. Although the team easily won most of their games, they lost to Cuba, 91–86, and received the silver medal.[45]
In 1980, Lieberman earned a slot on the 1980 Olympic team, but withdrew from the squad in support of U.S. PresidentJimmy Carter'sboycott of the1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.[46] She failed to make the final roster for the1990 Goodwill Games and the1992 Olympics.[47][48]
In 1998, Lieberman was hired asgeneral manager andhead coach of the Detroit Shock. She coached for three seasons, leading the team to a winning record (17–13) in theirinaugural season. After being fired after the2000 season, Lieberman worked as a women's basketballanalyst forESPN.
In November 2009, Lieberman became the coach of theTexas Legends in the NBA Development League (nowNBA G League), an affiliate of theDallas Mavericks, thus becoming the first woman to coach a professional men's basketball team. The team began play in November 2010.[49] She later moved to afront office position with the Legends before joiningFox Sports Oklahoma as an analyst for theOklahoma City Thunder studio show,Thunder Live.
In July 2015, she was hired by theSacramento Kings as an assistant coach, becoming the second female assistant coach in NBA history.[50] She took two leaves of absence to care for her ailing mother before leaving the Kings in 2017.[51] After the Kings, she became a broadcaster with theNew Orleans Pelicans.[52]
On March 21, 2018, it was announced that Lieberman was hired as a head coach ofPower in theBIG3 league, replacingClyde Drexler.[53] In her first season as head coach, she led her team to the2018 Championship, defeating3's Company to become the first ever female coach in theBIG3 to win a championship.[54]
Source[55]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | BPG | PPG |
| 1976-77 | Old Dominion University | 27 | 563 | 47.3% | 70.9% | 10.1 | 7.9 | 0.0 | 20.9 |
| 1977-78 | Old Dominion University | 34 | 681 | 43.2% | 73.0% | 9.6 | 5.9 | 0.0 | 20.0 |
| 1978-79 | Old Dominion University | 36 | 625 | 47.8% | 79.0% | 7.7 | 7.1 | 0.4 | 17.4 |
| 1979-80 | Old Dominion University | 37 | 561 | 53.3% | 77.9% | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.6 | 15.2 |
| Career | 134 | 2430 | 47.2% | 75.7% | 8.7 | 7.2 | 0.3 | 18.1 |
Source[40]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Phoenix | 25 | 0 | 11.2 | .325 | .231 | .800 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 2.6 |
| 2008 | Detroit | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | .000 | – | – | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 2 years, 2 teams | 26 | 0 | 11.1 | .321 | .231 | .800 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 2.5 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Phoenix | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | – | – | – | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Lieberman lived with tennis star Martina Navratilova for several years beginning in 1981 and she also served as her physical trainer, contributing to Navratilova's return to the number one ranking in 1982.[61]
In 1988, Lieberman married one of her teammates with the Generals, Tim Cline,[62] taking the surname Lieberman-Cline until the couple's divorce on March 15, 2001.[63]
Their sonT. J. Cline playedcollege basketball for theRichmond Spiders, and in November 2017 signed to play for Israeli teamHapoel Holon, which plays in theLigat HaAl, the top division of Israeli basketball.[64][65]
In regard to religious matters, despite her Jewish upbringing, Lieberman became a Christian late in her life and was described as having embraced born-again Christianity[66][67] in a 2015Jerusalem Post article.[68] Nonetheless, she said in an interview in 2010, "I am 100% Jewish. My father's parents were deeply religious, we hadtwo sets of silverware when we went and ate over there. My mother's side observed the major holidays. It was more relaxed. I went toHebrew school as well."[12] In 2011, she visited Israel with her mother, saying "It has changed my outlook of Israel. I know as a Jewish woman how important it is for me to be connected to this culture and to this community."[69]
Lieberman was a contestant on the season 4 Gold Medal Challenge of Champions special ofAmerican Gladiators. She was eliminated after the third event with the lowest score of the three female competitors.
On August 13, 2008, she was part of the inaugural class to be inducted into theHampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, honoring athletes, coaches and administrators who made contributions to sports in Southeastern Virginia.
For the most part, "Faith in Sports" focuses on male believers, but Hubbard also connects with some women, including basketball player Nancy Lieberman Cline, a Jew turned born-again Christian...
Lieberman – who was raised Jewish, but has become a born-again Christian...
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