05 September 2015

Becky Hammon is the First Female NBA Asst. Coach

Becky Hammon
Becky Hammon made history last 11 July 2015 by becoming the first female head coach in the history of the NBA Summer League after she led the Spurs in their game against the Knicks in Las Vegas.

Hammon became the first full-time female assistant coach in the history of all four major American sports leagues last summer when she was brought onto the Spurs staff by Gregg Popovich.

"Nothing in my life has really ever been easy. I've always been someone who did it uphill," Hammon said. "I'm up for challenges. I'm up for being outside the box, making tough decisions and challenges. ... And I'm a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. Throw those all in there and this was the perfect challenge and opportunity."

That makes her fit right in with the Spurs, an organization with a reputation for bold decisions. Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford have long been at the forefront of the league's international influx and earlier this summer hired European coaching legend Ettore Messina as an assistant.

During the 2001-02 season, Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Lucas brought Lisa Boyer into the team's practices and some games. Boyer, now an assistant at South Carolina, was not paid by the Cavaliers and did not travel with the team, but did work with the players and coaches that season.

"I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff," Popovich said in a statement released by the team. "Having observed her working with our team this past season, I'm confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs."

But Popovich and Buford were not available in person and Hammon had the spotlight entirely to herself.

"Congratulations to Becky on today's announcement," Boyer said in a statement. "It's a great thing for her and for the NBA. I am still so thankful to John Lucas for giving me the opportunity to work with his NBA team during my time with the Cleveland Rockers. His staff and players welcomed me as a coach, and it was an incredible experience for me to spend that season with them."

Last season, Hammon attended Spurs practices, film sessions and sat behind the bench at home game 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.

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