On Wednesday night in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon became the first woman to serve as head coach. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected in the second quarter of the Spurs 121-107 loss to the Lakers after receiving two straight technical fouls for the officials not calling a foul on a DeMar Derozan drive to the basket. Popovich pointed at Hammon after the ejection and told her; you got them.
“He officially pointed at me. That was it. … That was it,” Hammon said. “Said, ‘You got ’em,’ and that was it. Very Pop-like.”
Hammon joined the Spurs coaching staff in 2014 when she became the first full-time female assistant coach. In 2018 Hammon became Popovich’s top assistant and spent time as the Spurs head coach in Summer League games.
Hammon’s Thoughts
“Everybody just gets on board, and it was a great team effort, and they’re in my ear giving me suggestions and helping with substitutions and whatnot, Hammon said. So when Pop gets tossed, we all come together and become kind of another team. The guys responded great. I thought we gave ourselves some chances. We battled back multiple times, I think it was business as usual. They’re used to hearing my voice in practice.”
Hammon played eight seasons in San Antonio from the Stars; before that, she played for the New York Liberty. Hammon, a six-time All-Star, made both the WNBA’s Top 15 players of All-Time and WNBA Top 20@20.
Spurs Players Thoughts
The Spurs players enjoyed playing for Hammon.
“Becky played, and any player who knows the history of women’s basketball knows what she meant to the sport,” Spurs guard; DeMar DeRozan said. “You don’t think twice about it. She’s one of us. When she speaks, we are all ears.”
“I love Becky to death. We are really, really close. She texts me on holidays to ask about my daughter, and I ask about her kids. I appreciate her. The future is bright for her. I hope she sticks to it and doesn’t give up. One day it may happen, or it may not happen. Who knows? But she is definitely on the right road, and I think everyone here appreciates her. She is setting an example for every woman out there.” A quote from Dejounte Murray.
Hammon did well in her first action as a head coach, helping the Spurs cut in the Lakers’ lead multiple times, but they could not get over the hump. Hopefully, sometime in the future, Hammon will get a chance to be a head coach in the NBA; she has put in the work and deserves it.
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