All too often, a woman’s reputation as a “first” overshadows her many other accomplishments. That’s the case for Becky Hammon, the first woman to serve as head coach for a National Basketball Association (NBA) team, even if briefly.
On December 20, 2020, San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich was ejected in the second quarter of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers in San Antonio after arguing with a referee. He turned to Becky.
“He officially pointed at me,” Becky said. “That was it. Said, ‘You’ve got them.’”*
Becky joined Popovich’s staff in 2014 as an assistant coach, one of six women who held an assistant coaching role in the NBA that year. For three years, she served as the head coach of the Spurs’ summer league team, the first woman to be a head coach in that league. In 2015, she lead the team to the title.
First class all the way
So how did it come about that a woman was on the coaching staff of an NBA team? Pure chance!
Becky was undrafted out of Colorado State University but played in the WNBA for 16 years, becoming a six-time All-Star. After being passed over for the United States Olympic team, she gained Russian citizenship and represented that country in the 2008 and 2012 Games.
On her flight home from the 2012 London Games, Becky was seated next to Popovich. She recalls the conversation.
“So if you were an assistant for me, and I asked you something, you’d tell me the truth?” he asked her.
“I don’t know why else you’d ask if you didn’t want me to tell the truth.”
He answered, “Good, I don’t want a bunch of yes men.”
Passing the test
In 2013, Hammon tore a ligament in her left knee, abruptly ending her WNBA season. While she was in rehab, she served as a coaching intern with the Spurs.
After her debut as head coach in the 2020 game, players had nothing but good things to say about her coaching.
“It’s a beautiful thing just to hear her barking out calls, barking out sets,” said Lakers player LeBron James. “She’s very passionate about the game. So congrats to her, congrats to our league.”
Said retired NBA player Pau Gasol: “I’m telling you: Becky Hammon can coach. I’m not saying she can coach pretty well. I’m not saying she can coach enough to get by. I’m not saying she can coach almost at the level of the NBA’s male coaches. I’m saying: Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball. Period.”**
All because of Title IX
Although everyone was looking — and hoping — for Becky to move into a head coaching role in the NBA, she chose a different path. Today, she is head coach for a WNBA team, the Las Vegas Aces. She signed a seven-figure contract, making her the highest-paid coach in the WNBA.
Clearly, Becky has benefited from the gains of Title IX. She was born in 1977, five years after passage of the gender equality law.
“Obviously, I’m a product of Title IX,” she said. “My whole life, my whole livelihood was because Title IX was in place.”***
She understands the debt her generation owes to the women who came before her, the women who had to fight year after year just for a chance to play.
“We’re super grateful for the people that came before and fought much tougher battles so that we didn’t have to fight those kind of battles,” she said.† “We have to continue to push that line. For me, it’s still about the perception of the next generation seeing women and girls are great athletes, period.”
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* Victor Mather and Marc Stein, “Becky Hammon Becomes First Woman to Serve as Head Coach in N.B.A. Game,” The New York Times (December 31, 2020). This quote, Becky’s next quote and LeBron James’s quote all come from this article.
** Paul Gasol, “An open letter about female coaches,” The Players’ Tribune (May 11, 2018).
***Annie Costabile, “50th anniversary of Title IX exposes how much work remains,” The Chicago Sun-Times (June 25, 2022).
† Mark Anderson, “In their own words: What Title IX means to Las Vegas sports women,” Las Vegas Review-Journal (June 22, 2020) and “50th anniversary of Title IX.”