On Aug. 26th, the WNBA announced that first-year head coach Becky Hammon had won the 2022 WNBA Coach of the Year. After receiving 27 out of the possible 56 votes, Hammon was named the Coach of the Year. This award came after only her first season as a head coach in the WNBA. She is the first former player turned coach to have won this honor in their first season of coaching and the third former player turned coach to win this award. Becky Hammon: First Year Head Coach turned Coach of the Year.
Add @WNBA 𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 to @BeckyHammon‘s debut season as Aces Head Coach!
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) August 26, 2022
#1 overall record
#1 in scoring & offensive efficiency
2nd best winning percentage ever by a rookie H.C.
Franchise record for wins in a season
All-Star H.C.
Commissioner’s Cup Champ 🏆 pic.twitter.com/9g08o0Dy7u
Player turned Coach
Becky Hammon played in the WNBA from 1999 to 2014, initially playing for the New York Liberty. She later then played for the San Antonio Stars. In 2014, Hammon retired from playing and ended up in an assistant coaching position in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs. After several years in San Antonio, in 2017, the Stars moved from San Antonio to Las Vegas. In 2022, the Aces announced the hiring of former player Becky Hammon to be the head coach of this team. As a former player for this franchise, she came back as the coach, which is something you are starting to see more often in the WNBA.
In her first year, Coach Hammon accomplished many things. The Aces ended the regular season with the best overall record and the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs. Hammon has also transformed the Aces’ offense. She coached them to have the best scoring and offensive efficiency in the entire league. More accolades include being an All-Star head coach and winning the Commissioner’s Cup. The Aces this season also broke a franchise record for wins in a season. The team is currently in the semifinals, set to face the Seattle Storm on Sunday after winning 2-0 against the Mercury in the first round.
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