Becky Hammon's pro basketball journey jumpstarted with the Liberty. Now, she'll try and deny them a title
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon motions towards the court during the second half in Game 2 of a WNBA basketball semifinal series against the Dallas Wings, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, in Las Vegas. Credit: AP/John Locher
Who the heck is she?
When Becky Hammon walked into Liberty training camp 24 years ago, few in the gym thought the unknown 5-foot-6 guard from South Dakota would play a minute of professional basketball, let alone become the barrier-breaking coach of the Los Vegas Aces.
“I didn’t even know she could play,” remembered former teammate Sue Wicks. “She was this baby with curling iron bangs, khaki pants and a flannel shirt. It was like, ‘Hey, there’s a hayseed in your hair. Let me get it out for you.’”
What Hammon showed in that 1999 Liberty training camp against an influx of talent from the recently defunct American Basketball League laid the seeds for a playing and coaching career that landed her in the Naismith Hall of Fame this summer and has now put her in the WNBA Finals for the second straight year.
When her Aces open their WNBA championship series Sunday in Las Vegas against the Liberty franchise that launched her career, they will be looking to become the first team to repeat as champions since Los Angeles did it in 2001-02. The Liberty, meanwhile, are trying to win their first championship.
Hammon, the glue that binds them together, has to deny the franchise she still has deep emotional ties to in order to get what she wants.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of emotions flowing through her,” former Liberty teammate Teresa Weatherspoon said. “But she’s bringing in her team to win. She doesn’t care who it’s against.”
Bottom line: It’s hard to root against her. There is not a more recognizable WNBA coach than Hammon. The six-time All-Star broke a major glass ceiling in 2014 when she was hired by the San Antonio Spurs, becoming the first full-time female assistant coach in the four major North American professional sports leagues.
Many thought she had a shot at becoming the first female head coach in the NBA, but after eight years as an assistant — and multiple interviews for NBA head coaching jobs with no offers — Hammon jumped back to the WNBA last season.
In some ways it was a gutty decision. In others, it was a no-brainer. Hammon wanted to run her own show, and the Aces offered a deep-pockets ownership committed to both her and the league she had spent 16 years in as a player. Owner Mark Davis made Hammon the first WNBA coach to be paid more than $1 million a year. She quickly repaid him, becoming the first rookie coach to win a title when the Aces beat Connecticut in the Finals.
Now, she’s looking for a repeat against the Liberty. Who will win is anyone’s guess. Richie Adubato, the former Liberty coach who gave Hammon her first big break, has learned never to underestimate her.
“It’s a jump ball,” Adubato said when asked for a prediction, “but I’ll never bet against Becky.”
Maybe it was the bruises all over her body. Or maybe the way she popped right back up after Weatherspoon knocked her to the floor. Adubato liked what he saw and knew he had to find a place for her.
“Becky showed up with the odds stacked against her, but she never backed down,” Adubato said. “T-Spoon was one of the toughest and most physical guard defenders in the WNBA. She put a ton of pressure on the ball and could make things very difficult for ball handlers. Becky showed up every day, played with confidence, competed, knocked down shots all over the court and fought her way onto the team.”
“The kid busted her butt to be where she is, the player that she is,” Weatherspoon said. “To know that no one thought you belonged? She had an IQ that no one understood or thought she had. She showed it and that’s why she’s been in this league for so long and sustained the kind of success that she has had.”
Wicks said Hammon used her basketball smarts to make up for whatever deficiencies she might have.
“Her IQ was off the charts from the very beginning,” Wicks said. “She’s not so fast on her feet, but she understood angles and people’s movements and how to cut them off. Becky would never get beat twice. She would watch the film, know how people move down the floor and then give them just enough space to beat them.”
Hammon initially was upset when the Liberty traded her to San Antonio Silver Stars in 2007. She has since said it was the “best thing that ever happened” to her.
During her eight seasons, she helped to lead the Silver Stars to the playoffs seven times, including a berth in the Finals in 2008. After injuring her knee, Hammon spent the 2013-14 season shadowing the Spurs as an unofficial assistant. Coach Gregg Popovich then made history when he hired her.
Under Popovich, Hammon became the first female to coach a team in the summer league — which she won — the first woman to serve as part of an All-Star staff and the first female acting NBA coach, taking over when Popovich was ejected from a game on Dec. 30, 2020.
Hammon has interviewed for so many head coaching jobs that she lost count. While her tenure in Las Vegas has not come without controversy — this past week Los Angeles Sparks player Dearica Hamby filed a gender discrimination complaint against the Aces, her former team — the WNBA has been a much more welcoming place than the NBA.
Should Hammon win another title and spark the interest of the NBA, she has some hard decisions to make. She can play a pivotal role in the growing popularity of the WNBA and women’s sports. Or she can become the first woman to be a head coach in a major men’s league.
Hammon, for now, is not tipping her hand except to say she is done actively pursing jobs in the NBA. “You’re going to have to come after me,” she told Time Magazine. “I’m not going to beg for a job anymore.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
