Lindsey Harding leaving Sixers coaching staff to become Kings assistant coach

Lindsey Harding is leaving the 76ers for a better opportunity.

The team’s player-development coach is joining Luke Walton’s Sacramento Kings staff as an assistant coach.

“Lindsey is a rising star, and I’m so excited to have her join our incredibly experienced team of coaches,” Walton told ESPN in a statement. “Her basketball IQ and proven success on the court will be a valuable addition to our growing team as we work together to build a winning culture for many years to come.”

The Kings also added Stacey Augmon and Rico Hines to their coaching staff Friday. Hines will be a player-development coach. Augmon and Harding were named as assistant coaches/player development.

Sacramento hired Walton in April after he was fired by the Los Angeles Lakers. The three new hires will join Bobby Jackson, who currently serves as assistant coach/player development.

Walton hired former Phoenix Suns coach Igor Kokoskov as an assistant coach last month.

Harding joins a group of female coaches who will be on NBA benches this season -- the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Lindsay Gottlieb, the Boston Celtics’ Kara Lawson, the Dallas Mavericks’ Jenny Boucek, and the San Antonio Spurs Becky Hammon.

Harding, a former Duke and WNBA standout, joined the Sixers staff in August, becoming the first African American woman to be a full-time scout. In April, she was promoted to player-development coach. She also served as an assistant coach for the Sixers’ NBA Summer League team earlier this month in Las Vegas.

The 35-year-old played for the Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, and Phoenix Mercury during her nine-year career in the WNBA. She also had stints in Turkey and Russia.

The first-overall pick of the 2007 WNBA draft averaged 9.8 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.9 rebounds in 270 career league games.