Becky Hammon
James Naismith invented basketball in 1891; women started playing it in college in 1892. Becky Hammon was a 6x WNBA all-star who began as an undrafted free agent. The San Antonio Spurs hired her in 2014, which made her the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history. Previously, no major North American professional sports league has ever hired a full-time female assistant coach.
She became the first female head coach in the NBA's Summer League in 2015, and she led the Spurs to the Summer League title that same year. In addition, she became the first woman in the All-Star coaching staff during the 2016 All-Star game. She also was the first female acting head coach when she took over for Gregg Popovich, who was ejected on December 30, 2020.
Currently, she is the head coach for the Las Vegas Ace.
Quotes
And 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.
Pau Gasol
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