Becky Hammon recently took a big chance. After spending her eight years as an assistant her coach with the Spurs, she decided to move on to the next level and accepted her coaching position as head at her ace in Las Vegas.
She was named Coach of the Year and led her team to the WNBA Finals, so it’s safe to say the risk paid off.
In hindsight, Hammon’s success seems almost destined, but the move required a lot of scrutiny at the time. Hammon has interviewed several NBA teams, Sometimes it felt like even she didn’t take her seriously. Gregg Popovich was still coaching, so the road to the big chair was blocked.Other WNBA teams had reportedly been in touch, but she rejected them until she received an offer that would purportedly make her the highest-paid coach in the league and gave her opinion to the front office. her reported salary It didn’t work out with some WNBA starsShe had clearly demonstrated her worth before, but as a rookie coach, many eyes were on her to see if she was worthy of the hype.
No one should doubt it even now.
Hammon’s first challenge at Ace was to modernize an offense that ranked last in the Country Mile in three-point attempts a year before she arrived. However, he had the third-most outside shots in the league. Liz, who is her second-best rebounder and her third-best scorer on the 2021 team, with her cambage, Hammon needed to empower stars Kelsey Plum and Aja her Wilson. , she did just that. Wilson won his MVP award for the second time this season, and Plum was named an All-Star to his team for the first time. Hammon also promoted 2021 Six Her Woman of the Year Dearika her Hanbury to a full-time starter, and this forward made her second All-Star appearance in her game. Up-and-coming guard Jackie Young won the Most Valuable Player award and made his first All-Star appearance. Chelsea Gray, meanwhile, continued to be a great leader on the court and set the rest up.
The ace was full of talent, but Hammon proved adept at managing it, and regular season success, with Las Vegas achieving the best record in the league, led to the postseason. The Aces easily cleaned up a depleted Mercury, most recently defeating Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm in the conference semifinals. Now they’re fighting against the Connecticut sun and being favored. Hammon could lead the Aces to their first title in franchise history as a rookie coach.
For some Spurs fans, Hammon’s success may feel bittersweet. She’s been with the franchise for a long time and looked like a potential successor to Pop, the type of hire that shows an interest in continuity that’s a hallmark of the Spurs. She ignored the other pools just as she had scouted Europe and gone past. It didn’t matter that the jamon was liked by most people. She was a basketball legend in San Antonio after her time as a player with the Stars and a very enjoyable Spurs her league her summer leading her team to the title. It’s completely understandable to want someone with these qualifications to stay as long as possible, but even if she’s not in San Antonio anymore, there’s no reason other than to make her happy and cheer her on. she deserves it.
After dealing with questionable hiring practices from an NBA team, it’s heartwarming to see the Ace franchise appreciate her skills and reward that trust. Having gracefully dealt with the scrutiny that came with , and equally dealt with all the questions that came with the transition to W, it’s impossible not to be impressed with her character. Well, her success is good for the franchise, too. Those who come out of Popovich’s coaching tree and do well make young coaching talent more attractive on the benches at the AT&T Center. And for those still hoping for Hammon to take over after Pop leaves, it would be helpful if she ticked the “win the WNBA title” box ASAP.
Hammon was a great player for the Stars and a great assistant for the Spurs. Her path has taken her somewhere else for now and it’s good to see that she’s still thriving, especially after enduring some bad experiences. I hope she finds her way back to NYC, but for now she should know that the city and the fans of the team she helped make a great team are still rooting for her. For the next few days, we’re all Becky Hammon fans, so we’re all Ace fans.
Game 1 of the WNBA Finals takes place today at 2:00 PM CET and airs on ABC.
