Portland Trail Blazers: Chauncey Billups adds another coach to his staff

New Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups staff is coming along.

first, he added former Washington Wizards and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks as his lead assistant, followed by Roy Rogers, who like Billups was an assistant with the Clippers. Now the rookie coach is hiring former WNBA guard Edniesha Curry to join his bench.

Curry was drafted by the Charlotte Sting in the third round of the 2002 WNBA draft. Curry attended Cal State Northridge from 1997-1999 and transferred to the University of Oregon in 2000. Curry never played for the Sting but was a member of the Phoenix Mercury (2003) and the Los Angeles Sparks (2005). In her two seasons in the WNBA, Curry averaged 1.7 points, 0.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists in 9.6 minutes played per game, none of which were as a starter.

Later on in 2015 until 2017, she would be an assistant coach on the Maine Black Bears women’s basketball team. She would return to the Black Bears in 2018, this time as an assistant coach on the Men’s team, assisting Richard Barron, who was the head coach of the women’s team when Curry was an assistant. She also coached teams in Vietnam.

Curry’s biography on the Blackbear athletic page says,

"“she gained experience working at the NBA Draft Combine and the NBA G League showcase which included player development and scouting duties.”"

Curry will be the first female in Portland Trail Blazers history as an assistant coach and as of now, will be the 15th female assistant on the bench of an NBA team. This list also includes Becky Hammon, who reportedly was a finalist for Portland’s head coach position before it was given to Billups. She finished her eighth season (2014) under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio.

With the hiring of Brooks, Rogers, and now Curry, it is not known if Billups has completed his staff, or if he will add more to it.

The Athletic’s Jason Quick first reported this story. ( behind paywall )