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Becky Hammon is having a great coaching career thus far. She became the first coach in the WNBA to win back-to-back championships in 20 years. The 48-year-old also became the second-ever female NBA coach as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs (2014-2021). Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich praised Hammon’s impact during her stint as assistant coach. “It became huge when we hired her, and now it is even bigger because of the summer league situation. But we didn’t even think about that stuff,” he said. Regarding why he hired Hammon, he added, “I hired her because she was in my coach’s meetings for an entire year because she was injured.“
Becky Hammon Is Great On And Off The Court
Hammon’s Record At Las Vegas Aces Is Phenomenal
Hammon became the first rookie coach to win a championship when the Las Vegas Aces won the title in 2022. Before winning her first championship, she defeated Chicago Sky 93-83 in the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup final. In 116 regular season games, she has 87 wins and 29 losses.
These feats are remarkable when you consider that she started coaching in 2021. If she continues this level of success, then she will be in conversations with Cheryl Reeves. Reeves can make a strong argument for being the Greatest WNBA coach when you consider the success she has had with the Minnesota Lynx. Reeve has an astonishing win ratio to go with her four championships with the Minnesota Lynx.
Becky Hammon Is Rated Highly
Players in the basketball community rate Hammon highly. NBA players like LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan expressed their delight with Hammon coaching a game with the San Antonio Spurs. James referred to how dedicated she is: “She’s been putting in the work, and any time you put in the work you get rewarded with opportunities.’‘ This shows she goes above and beyond to ensure the Las Vegas Aces are firing on all cylinders. If they aren’t firing on all cylinders, then their performance levels could drop. This is not ideal for a team trying to win its third championship in four years.
She Speaks Positively Of Her Players
Hammon supports her players. In a postgame interview, she responded to a post that A’ja Wilson is the pettiest player on the planet. Hammon thought the post meant to say “prettiest” instead of “pettiest.” Wilson responded to Hammon by saying they posted “pettiest.”
A positive relationship with your players is ideal as they will give their all for you. It also shows she doesn’t want any negativity surrounding her players. Hammon came to A’ja Wilson’s defense again, but this time for what she was doing on the court. She said everyone was protesting Wilson not winning DPOY by wearing shirts. The fourth-year head coach can also speak highly of her rookies. Hammon had this to say about Kate Martin:“She’s built up a lot of trust already in the locker room and with us coaches. And at the end of the day, her try-hard factor is off the charts.”
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images