We are right in the thick of the NBA Finals, with the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder locked in a battle for the 2025 NBA championship. While much of the spotlight is on stars like Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, there’s a different kind of history brewing behind the scenes, and one coach with the Pacers is looking for more than a ring.
Pacers assistant coach Jenny Boucek isn’t just helping lead Indiana’s defensive game plan, she’s also making a quiet but powerful case to become the NBA’s first full-time female head coach.
Jenny Boucek's coaching journey from the WNBA to the NBA Finals
Jenny Boucek has been an assistant coach with Pacers since 2021 and is only one of four female assistants in the NBA currently. However, her resume is vastly becoming more intriguing for many NBA teams in search of their next hire.
Boucek played in the WNBA during its inaugural season in 1997, but injuries cut her playing career short. She quickly transitioned into coaching, spending nearly two decades on the sidelines in the WNBA starting in 1999. She served as head coach of both the Sacramento Monarchs and Seattle Storm, leading multiple teams to the postseason along the way.
In 2017, Boucek left the WNBA for a job with the Sacramento Kings, and after stints with the Kings and Dallas Mavericks, she joined the staff of the Pacers in 2021. She currently serves as the defensive coordinator for a Pacers team that has shocked the basketball world and is playing for the franchise's first title.
Could Jenny Boucek become the NBA’s first female head coach?
There are certainly rumblings about Boucek's future, including those who are asking if she will become the first full-time female head coach in the NBA. She has the respect of the Pacers, and if they are able to win the Finals, it could be the push an organization needs to give her a chance.
Would a team like the Knicks give Boucek an opportunity? They seemed to struggle at times against Indiana and could be a team in need of a change to get over the hump, having lost to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
If the Knicks don't take her as an option, she may miss out this season. However, the NBA has been known for firing coaches' midseason or quickly after teams are finished. If she waits one more, I would not be surprised if her name is among those in consideration.
"Even off the floor, she’s someone you can bounce ideas off, and someone who has your back," said Pacer's center Myles Turner during a video tribute to Boucek.
As women’s sports continue to surge in visibility and investment, the NBA has an opportunity to reflect that momentum on its own sidelines. It’s time for a men’s league to back a qualified woman to lead, and Jenny Boucek has more than earned that chance.