(PORTLAND, Ore.) Jason Quick of The Athletic confirmed Monday that the Portland Trail Blazers have hired former Oregon ducks and WNBA guard Edniesha Curry as an assistant coach, making her the first female coach in Blazers history, KGW reports.
Curry, 42, has worked as an assistant coach for the University of Maine’s men’s basketball team since 2018.
Curry played for the Ducks during the 2001-2002 season after coming over as a senior transfer. She earned honorable mention all-conference honors and helped the team achieve an NIT title. After college, she played professionally in the WNBA and overseas for a decade.
She later became a player development and assistant coach for the women’s basketball team at the University of Maine from 2015 to 2017. Curry was a coach in Vietnam, China, Israel and Palestine through the NBA Assistant Coaches’ Program. She was hired as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at the University of Maine in 2018.
“She is extremely talented at developing players, especially within the context of defensive and offensive systems,” said Maine head coach Richard Barron.
Curry will join newly-appointed head coach Chauncey Billups on the Blazers coaching staff. The team will reportedly also add former Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks as lead assistant and Los Angeles Clippers assistant Roy Rogers.