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Nuggets honor Women’s History Month: Paula Hanson’s revolutionary work

Back when the Denver Nuggets were a fledgling franchise fighting to stay alive in the ABA, Paula Hanson remembers some of the difficulty she faced as one of the team’s top executives.

“The challenge was being taken seriously,” Hanson recalled to Nuggets.com. “I would go out with Carl [Scheer] on sales calls with businesses and everyone would assume I was his secretary when we came in.”

Hanson wasn’t Scheer’s secretary, she was the assistant general manager of Nuggets – second in command only to Scheer who led basketball operations.

“[Carl] would let me take the lead [in those meetings] to get that out of the way quickly,” Hanson said.

Scheer is often credited as the man who helped save basketball in Denver and it was through well-calculated bold moves that he was able to do it. While the Nuggets’ rainbow skyline jerseys might be considered Scheer’s signature move, his decision to promote Hanson as his assistant GM might be just as, if not more, significant. To put things into perspective, Kelly Krauskopf, the Pacers’ assistant GM, is widely assumed to be the first woman in that role in NBA, but it was actually Hanson who was the first to hold the title.

Hanson acknowledged her responsibilities are different from what a current assistant general manager deals with.

“Back then the general manager title meant you had a hand in everything [from personnel decisions to business],” Hanson said. “I was in charge of the business side and I didn’t do much on the basketball side. I would schedule preseason games and work with the arenas.”

Although Hanson didn’t deal with player transactions, she was heavily involved with the invention of what would become a basketball staple – the initial Slam Dunk contest.

“The fact that we planned and implemented the first All-Star Saturday [was my proudest moment],” Hanson said.

Due to the financial struggles of the ABA, the league would play its final All-Star game in 1976 with a unique format. The first-placed Nuggets would take on the rest of the league’s top talents as there weren’t enough players to field an East vs. West game. In trying to think outside of the box, Hanson and the Nuggets’ marketing team ensured the in-game entertainment was top notch. There were country singers before player introductions and then came the introduction of the Slam Dunk Contest, the famous one which Julius Erving captivated audiences and secured a win.

“It was a very long night,” Hanson quipped.

Hanson was also influential in helping the Nuggets transition into the NBA and would remain with the team for its first two years in the league. Overall, Hanson would earn the respect of her colleagues, players and inspire countless others during an 11-year run with the franchise. Lisa Johnson, the Nuggets’ current Vice President of Basketball Administration, is the team’s longest-tenured employee having spent almost 40 years with the organization. She remembers the impact Hanson had on her early days with the Nuggets.

“Paula Hanson from the beginning taught me what was right and how to succeed in this business,” Johnson wrote in an email. “She was ahead of her time as a woman in professional sports.”

Johnson added, “She was tough no doubt and she helped me develop some thick skin on things.  In fact, I was scared of her at first. She was a no-nonsense leader. Until I realized how much I was learning from her on how to be professional and survive in the sports world.”

Hanson would continue to be a trailblazer for woman executives for all sports after she left the Nuggets. She would go on to lead the NBA’s first-ever Team Marketing and Business Operations department, a group that continues to serve a critical role for the league. She firmly believed that if teams were consistently communicating with each other, it would help the league grow. From there, she helped the WNBA with its marketing and business efforts during its early days.

“The fact that we were able to have a place for women to play [in this country was huge] and it helped the college game as well,” Hanson said. “Players now can look and say I do have a future.”

The NBA currently has 11 women assistant coaches while Krauskopf remains its only woman assistant GM. When Hanson surveys the current efforts by the league to integrate more women into high-level positions, she is encouraged by the future of the league. She remembers a time when coaches wouldn’t even allow women into training facilities.

“I think it’s great and at this point, almost of all them came from the WNBA,” she said. “It shows, despite the obvious physical differences, they understand the game just as well. I think it was John Wooten who said the WNBA plays basketball the way it should be played. I think women bring that knowledge with them.”

It’s a journey that Hanson helped lead several decades ago.