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Former WNBA superstar Becky Hammon is accustomed to being a leader on and off the court, and she continues to lead the charge in changing the face of women coaching in the NBA. It was announced on Wednesday Hammon would be promoted to San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich’s first assistant.
With this promotion, Hammon becomes the first female top assistant in an NBA franchise and across the big four major professional male sports leagues in the US. Hammon became only the second female assistant to coach in NBA history when she was hired as an assistant with the Spurs in 2014. Hammon made history again when she was the first woman to coach a team at the NBA summer league in Las Vegas in 2015.
Gregg Popovich has always championed for Hammon’s talent as a coach. “I don’t know if her perspective is unique. It’s women instead of men, but it’s the same game,” Popovich said in 2015 about Hammon’s ability to coach in the NBA. Its only a matter of time before Hammon shatters the glass ceiling to become the first female head coach of an NBA team.
Hammon had a stellar 15-year career in the WNBA after going undrafted in the 1999 draft. Hammon was a 6-time WNBA All Star and represented Russia in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.