Becky Hammon is now a member of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame after being inducted in August 2023. The honor comes only months after Hammon led the Las Vegas Aces to a championship in 2022 and while she is chasing another in 2023. Hammon had a lot to say during her speech, and here’s what really stood out.
“The number of times I hear ‘no’ or had a door shut was the number of times I was going to go through a chimney or bust through a window to find a way,” Hammon said. “I wouldn’t change the hard parts, because the hard parts were necessary to build the courage for whatever comes next.”
Keep reading to see how Hammon ended up here.
The start
While Hammon is now a firebrand and future NBA coach, she started her career undrafted in 1999. She later signed a deal with the New York Liberty in hopes of earning a spot as a starter. Despite a slow start, Hammon improved immensely in just one year, averaging 12 points, 1.8 assists, and two rebounds per game.
She never won a championship during her playing career but still had some memorable seasons. One example is when Hammon and the San Antonio Stars marched to the WNBA Finals in 2008. Unfortunately, they were swept by the Detroit Shock. That’s the closest Hammon ever came to winning a title as a player.
Greg Popovich’s impact
Becky Hammon’s career came to an abrupt end after she tore an anterior cruciate ligament in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks. Hammon continuously tried to rehab the injury and spent her spare time sitting in on Greg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs’ practice sessions.
Popovich eventually noticed Hammon and started asking for her input. That turned into her officially joining the team as assistant head coach in 2014, breathing new life into her career. Hammon and Popovich went on to rock the league for eight years until she became head coach of the Aces in 2022.
“Pop, I’m not going to look at you,” Hammon said. “You’re a man of principle and excellence. I know you weren’t trying to be courageous when you hired me. But you did do something no one else in professional sports has ever done.”
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What Popovich had to say about Hammon’s induction
Popovich had this to say about his longtime protege.
“I’m in love with her,” Popovich said of Hammon in an ESPN interview. “She is a fiery, competitive, take-no-prisoners gal. The first time I knew that was when I went to see the WNBA team for San Antonio. She was the point guard for that team and she reminded me of my youth. She was a wiseass out there on the court, chewing her gum, directing traffic, and making everybody do what she wanted to do. And she just ruled the whole gym.”
Becky Hammon and the many firsts
The words Becky Hammon and first have come up quite a few times lately. She is the first female coach in WNBA History and the first coach to win a championship in her first season. She also won Coach of the Year in her first year with the Aces, which only confirmed her dominance in the league.
Fast forward to 2023, and the firsts continue to roll in. She is now the first coach to help her team clinch a playoff spot six weeks early and the first to have such a stranglehold over the league.
Final thoughts
Hammon deserves this induction for so many reasons. She is a game-changer for the Aces and has a memorable playing career of over a decade. Of course, she never won the championship as a player, but she came close a few times. Hammon also won a championship in only one year with the Aces, something few others can say.
This woman is responsible for so much that it feels like this is only the beginning.
You can watch Becky Hammon’s full Hall of Fame speech below
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