The Washington Wizards have hired Katherine Evans to head their research department. Evans is the first woman to head a research or analytics department for an NBA franchise.

"Dr. Evans is an exceptional talent with a true passion for the game of basketball and is widely respected within the league and academic circles," said Sashi Brown, Monumental Basketball's chief planning and operations officer. "She brings innovative approaches and perspectives and will be a great leader of our research department, which is charged with identifying competitive advantages for all of our athletes and our athlete care and performance team."

Evans previously was director of strategic research for the Toronto Raptors.