National Basketball Association (NBA) team, Memphis Grizzlies, have appointed Indian origin Sonia Raman as its assistant coach on Tuesday, reported PTI.

 ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said that Raman replaced another women’s assistant coach, Niele Ivey, who left for a head coaching position at the University of Notre Dame.

Raman is now the third coach of Indian origin in the NBA after Vin Bhavnani of Oklahoma City Thunder and Roy Rana of Sacramento Kings. 

She is also the 14th female assistant coach in the history of the NBA and the 10th among current coaching staffers in the league. She is now the seventh female coach to be hired as an assistant in the league since the beginning of the 2019-20 season.

Head coach Taylor Jenkins told PTI, “She has a high basketball IQ and a tremendous ability to teach the game, as well as a strong passion for the game. She is going to be a great addition to our current coaching staff.”

Raman 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.

She served as the head coach of the women’s basketball team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 2008 and  guided the programme to their first championships with consecutive NEWMAC (New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference) titles in 2018 and 2019.

Raman said. “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.” She added, “I must also give a truly special thank you to MIT and the women I’ve had the honour of coaching for the past 12 years. I wish the programme continued success.”