On the far end of the Mavericks' practice court, out of reporters' hearing range, assistant coach Jenny Boucek is casually monitoring the free-throw routine of 6-foot-11, 265-pound DeAndre Jordan, by percentage the fourth-worst marksman from the so-called charity stripe in NBA history.
Two dribbles. Fluid follow-through. Swish.
Two afternoons later, in her townhome barely a mile from the Mavericks' practice facility, Boucek is on her knees on an interactive play mat, gently guiding 4-month-old daughter Rylie.
"Tell me where you want to go. See the apple tree? See the bird?"
Which is more wondrous? Rylie pushing herself up on hands and knees months ahead of most babies? Jordan's free-throw percentage rising from a career 44.6 to 73.5 this season? Or single-mom Boucek's multitasking?
On July 18, she was hired as the first female coach in Mavericks history. Twelve days later, she gave birth to Rylie. It's not unusual for new mothers to play (Serena Williams) or coach women's sports, but so far as anyone knows, Boucek's juggle is a men's pro sports first.
When she gave in vitro fertilization one last try last November, after multiple heartbreaking and expensive attempts, Boucek accepted that she might be forsaking the NBA coaching career she'd began a month earlier with the Sacramento Kings.
Now, instead, she savors her first Christmas with Rylie, turning 45 this week, and the collective embrace she has felt from a new city and the Mavericks organization.
"There's a lot of things that came together that helped me find peace with doing this," she says. "As nervous as I was about it, now I can't imagine a bigger regret than the one I would have had. I can't imagine life without my daughter."
When the Kings hired longtime WNBA coach Boucek (pronounced Boo-sik) last season, she joined close friends Becky Hammon (Spurs) and longtime North Texan Nancy Lieberman (Kings) as the only women to coach in the NBA.
This season, the Washington Wizards hired current WNBA player Kristi Toliver as an assistant coach. Multiple NBA teams have hired women to their player-development staffs and, just this week, the Indiana Pacers hired longtime WNBA executive Kelly Krauskopf as the first female assistant general manager in NBA history.
All are pioneers in male-dominated territory, but no others are quite like Boucek, who is blazing dual trails.
"A lot of us on this team have been raised by single mothers," Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes says. "So there's a connection there.
"We obviously empathize with that and are supportive of that, but from a basketball perspective, us as players have respect for her, for her knowledge on the court and how she conducts herself. I think it's pretty cool that this is happening in a trailblazing sense, but in a basketball sense it's not like we have to compensate.
"No, she's a normal coach just like anybody else."
