Raptors Brittni Donaldson becomes youngest assistant coach in NBA

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Updated: September 12, 2019
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As far as women’s role in sports is concerned, times have indeed undergone a sea change. According to official announcements made by the Raptors recently, Brittni Donaldson will be soon be on-board as an assistant coach. In the early part of 2019, the Raptors strengthened their ranking in the NBA following by their victory against the Golden State Warriors. This has further sparked Canadians’enthusiasm with regard to any news related to Raptors. The fact that Raptors has been promoting women in the NBA is quite heartening.

6 Important things to know about Raptors Brittni Donaldson becomes youngest assistant coach in NBA

She’s one of the youngest in the game: this is arguably the most impressive fact about her. How she has made her way up to this level is quite astounding, that too at only 26 years of age! We can perhaps attribute her much-deserved success to her work ethics and unmatched skills in stats analysis that gives her an edge.
She has actually been a part of the Raptors’ staff for quite a while: though this will be the first time Donaldson will help coach the Raptors, but she has already carved out a niche for itself on the team. Global News has confirmed that having spent the last two seasons as the team’ data analyst, Donaldson has come to know the team inside out. She has also worked in close coordination with the president of the team, Masai Ujiri, and head coach Nick Nurse. In fact, Nurse picked her back in July to join the team as an assistance coach.
She has been trusted with major team tasks before: when the Raptors traded for Marc Gasol, Donaldson was the one to bring him into perfect shape. She lent complete assistance to the future NBA champion with his workout routine. Reportedly, Donaldson stated that she felt very special to be the first person Gasol interacted with on the basketball side.
She is part of a growing movement: according to CBC reports, Donaldson is the NBA’s 10^th female assistant coach this summer alone. It seems like the young woman is driving a new movement to bring women to the forefront of NBA basketball.
She went to the same college as Nick Nurse: Donaldson attended the University of Northern Iowa. The interesting part is, this is the same school Nick Nurse played for in the late 1980s before the onset of his coaching career. The alums have progressed from bailing on the court to advising on the side, their first as well as their ultimate step was at the same place. It hardly comes as a surprise then that the head coach is pining all the hopes on Donaldson.
She used to fall back in the day: Donaldson is much more than being just a skilled analyst; she is herself a basketball player. ESPN has reported that at just the age of two, Donaldson was dribbling basketballs. She was inspired by her father, who also played in college. Her athletic career began as an all-state high school player at North High School in Sioux City. She kept her sportsperson streak alive at the University of Northern Iowa. She also received a bachelor in statistics and actuarial science.

These are some of the most interesting facts that you should take into consideration when you analyze how Donaldson’s career has panned out and where she draws her strength and inspirations from.