Silver: NBA 'definitely will' have woman head coach eventually

The NBA remains firmly committed to equitable hiring practices according to its Lean In initiative, says commissioner Adam Silver.

The future of the league will "sooner rather than later" see the hiring of its first woman head coach, along with more women in the referee pool, Silver told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.

"There definitely will (be a women head coach)," Silver said. "And I think it is on me to sort of ensure that it happens sooner rather than later."

More women officials are also coming down the pipeline.

"It would be my goal as we look to increase that pool of officials that we recruit equally from pools of potential women as we do from men," Silver said. "... We will be looking very hard at dramatically increasing the representation of women in our officiating ranks."

"I would make all the same points in terms of being a head coach in the NBA that there is no physical reason why women can't officiate in the NBA," Silver also said. "I think it is more a function of the fact that they haven't been in the pipeline to become NBA officials."

Becky Hammon of the Spurs became the first full-time paid women assistant head coach in any of the four major North American sports when she was hired in 2014. Hammon is joined by Nancy Lieberman, an assistant with the Kings, and Natalie Nakase, who works as an assistant video coordinator for the Clippers.

As for officials, Lauren Holtkamp is the only active women in the referee pool after Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner retired.