This past Friday (September 11th), the Memphis Grizzlies announced the hiring of Sonia Raman as an assistant coach, joining head coach Taylor Jenkins' staff.
She becomes the seventh female coach to be hired as an assistant in the league since the beginning of the 2019-20 season. Overall, Raman is the 14th female assistant coach in the history of the NBA and 10th among current coaching staffs.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, she replaces Niele Ivey, another women's assistant coach who left for a head coaching position at the University of Notre Dame.
MORE: List of current female assistant coaches in the NBA
"She has a high basketball IQ and a tremendous ability to teach the game, as well as a strong passion for the game," head coach Taylor Jenkins said. "She is going to be a great addition to our current coaching staff."
Raman had served as the head coach of the women's basketball team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 2008. She guided the program to their first championships with consecutive NEWMAC (New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference) titles in 2018 and 2019. She is the winningest coach in the program's history, as per her official bio on MIT's athletic website.
She began her coaching career at Tufts University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations in 1996. After a two-year stint with her alma mater, she spent six years as the top assistant coach at Wellesley College before joining MIT.
"I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of the Memphis Grizzlies coaching staff. I can’t wait to get to Memphis and get started with Taylor, his staff and the team’s emerging young core,” Raman said. “I must also give a truly special thank you to MIT and the women I’ve had the honor of coaching for the past 12 years. I wish the program continued success.”
She joins Vin Bhavnani (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Roy Rana (Sacramento Kings) as the only coaches of Indian origin in the league.
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