Last season, Hammon attended Spurs practices, film sessions and sat behind the bench at home games after suffering a torn ACL that kept her from playing. She’s been friends with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan since competing in an NBA All-Star shooting competition in 2008, a familiarity that will help as she makes her transition to coaching the two stars.
“As far as women coaching men, it’s really silly. People ask me all the time, will there ever be a woman player in the NBA?” Hammon said. “To be honest, no. There are differences. The guys are too big, too strong and that’s just the way it is.
“But when it comes to things of the mind, things like coaching, game-planning, coming up with offensive and defensive schemes, there’s no reason why a woman couldn’t be in the mix and shouldn’t be in the mix.”
It’s been a long time coming for female basketball players and coaches who have long dreamed of getting a chance in the NBA.
“I was so excited and pleased and the one thing that people have to remember is that the San Antonio Spurs don’t do anything for effect,” said Nancy Lieberman, a former star player who was a head coach in the NBA Development League in 2009 and now serves as the GM of the Texas Legends. “That’s not who they are. They don’t do this for the record-breaking barrier. They do things out of respect.
“And the fact that coach Popovich has this much respect for Becky’s basketball IQ, for how she handles herself with the guys in practice, her ability to relate to them, I’m sure he saw so much when she was working with them last fall. I’m sure he didn’t hire her because she was a woman. I’m sure he hired her because she was the best person for the job.”
“This will open the door for other women, even like myself,” Lieberman added. “My goal is to coach in the NBA and you’ve got to start somewhere. So this is a great day.”
Charlotte Hornets sideline reporter Stephanie Ready, who served as an assistant on the Coppin State men’s team as well as in the D-League, called Popovich the perfect person to hire Hammon “because he’s proven he has a tremendous track record and he does not make bad decisions.”
