Report: Raptors 905 to add Tamara Tatham to coaching staff

According to reports from Doug Smith (well and truly back on the beat), the Raptors 905 are set to bring in Tamara Tatham to help fill out their coaching staff. Tatham will join Charles Kissi as a fellow assistant coach under new bench boss (and long-time member of the Raptors organization) Jama Mahlalela.

For various reasons, as Smith outlines in the above tweet, this is a cool development. Tatham is now the first Canadian woman on a pro basketball team’s coaching staff. It’s a small step, given that the overwhelming majority of coaches are men, but it’s a step nonetheless.

As for Tatham’s credentials, let’s take a deep breath here and continue: At just 32, she’s already a two-time Olympian, having represented Canada in the 2012 and 2016 Games. To add to that, Tatham was was also a member of the Canadian team that captured the gold in the 2015 Pan American Games. And while we’re at it, she’s also made various appearances in World Championships and FIBA tournaments, which led up to, sure, another gold medal in the 2015 FIBA Americas. Not bad.

On a more local scale, Tatham played her collegiate ball at University of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, before jumping to pro ball in Finland in that same year and enjoying a subsequent run through a mix of European, Australian, and, why not, Russian leagues. Most recently, in 2017-18, Tatham was hooping it up in the French League LFB for USO Mondeville.

From all accounts, it sounds as though the 905 got another winner on the coaching staff. Look out for Tatham on the G League sideline when the Raptors 905 take the court later this year.

Update: It’s official!