DURHAM, NC — One of the biggest priorities in Kara Lawson’s life right now is rest. As she juggles a trio of roles as the leader of the Duke Blue Devils, the head coach of Team USA and a broadcast analyst for WNBA contests on Amazon Prime, her schedule is packed and her life is busy.
She keeps a rigid routine to stay at the top of her game in all three jobs.
“I sleep well. I go to bed early. I’m usually in bed by 9 p.m., but I wake up early,” Lawson said Tuesday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium. “It's just really important that you take care of yourself. You know what I mean? Like, you get enough rest, and you eat as well as you can and you work out. I just make sure I do those things. I don't compromise that.”
Although, Lawson has had to push
her bedtime back a few times this summer when she got assigned WNBA games on the west coast — some of which don’t tip-off until 10 p.m. ET or later.
“Yeah, that was tough,” Lawson said with a laugh. “I struggled with a couple of those.”
On this night, Duke is hosting a free and open practice to the public. There’s a lot of hype around this team as it comes off two consecutive ACC championships and back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight. As Lawson enters her seventh season at the helm, the Blue Devils return an All-American in Toby Fournier, have highly touted young point guard Emilee Skinner finally healthy and Texas transfer Aaliyah Crump entering the fold.
But Lawson is getting ready to switch gears. Her Blue Devils are about to head home for a few weeks and one month from now — on Sept. 4 in Berlin, Germany — she will be coaching Team USA in the FIBA Women’s World Cup in their opening group stage game against China.
Her role with Team USA is why Lawson signed on with Amazon to work as a broadcaster for WNBA games. It’s given her the chance to see the players she’ll be coaching in Germany — and in 2028 in Los Angeles — from a different perspective.
“That's why I did it. I felt like I needed to be around the players and see them, and they needed to see me — just be able to have some of those organic conversations that happen at shootarounds, before or after games,” Lawson said. “Working with Amazon has been awesome and they gave me that ability. I've seen almost everybody that's in our pool, so it's just been good to catch up with them.
“I don't see them every day like I see my (Duke) players and connection matters. Whatever level you're on, a relationship with the players is the most important thing if you want to be able to get the most out of them.”
Of course, broadcasting isn't a new skill that Lawson had to learn. Beginning when she was still playing, she worked as an analyst and sideline reporter for ESPN on NBA, WNBA and college basketball games. Lawson balanced this second career as a broadcaster while winning a WNBA championship with the Sacramento Monarchs, being an All-Star level player, and capturing a gold medal with Team USA in 2008.
As the coach of the Americans now, Lawson said she’s talking with Sue Bird — the managing director for the women’s national team — regularly about what the roster might look like and what they’re seeing out of players.
It’s unclear when the official roster will be announced. Team USA hasn’t held a training camp since April — before the WNBA season started. There in Phoenix, Lawson got an up-close look at reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, All-Star Paige Bueckers, and college stars like Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes and USC’s JuJu Watkins.
One player that was at that training camp but didn’t participate was Napheesa Collier, who at that time was still recovering from ankle surgery. The five-time WNBA All-Star helped Team USA win Olympic gold medals in 2021 and 2024.
Collier recently returned to action for the Minnesota Lynx and is averaging 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in four games this season. Lawson was on the call for Amazon in Collier’s third game back, when she scored 16 points in a win over the Toronto Tempo.
Asked if Collier will be part of Team USA’s roster for the World Cup, Lawson didn’t answer directly, but praised the former Defensive Player of the Year.
“Oh, I love Phee. What she’s done, she's one of the top players in the world, not just the WNBA,” Lawson said. “She's somebody that I just have a lot of confidence in, in her ability and her toughness. You can count on her. She's so reliable on both ends of the floor, a complete player. There's not a bigger fan of Phee than me.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Team USA coach Kara Lawson has used Amazon analyst job to prepare for FIBA World Cup
