Forget shattering glass backboards. Becky Hammon is shattering the glass ceiling instead.
Hammon, a WNBA legend, made headlines last summer when she retired from the WNBA and became an assistant for San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. This summer, Hammon made history when she was tasked with leading the team’s summer league squad, becoming the league’s first female head coach of any capacity.
It’s safe to say she was up to the task.
The Spurs won the NBA’s summer league championship Monday with Hammon at the helm. Her players, young 20-somethings fresh out of college, hustle for and respect her.
“We don’t look at it as female or anything,” Spurs forward Jarrell Eddie told The Guardian. “She’s the coach and we just listen.”
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Hammon leading San Antonio to a title is a huge accomplishment not only for her and the Spurs, but also for all women in sports. If you ask head coach Gregg Popovich, though, it certainly wasn’t unexpected, as Hammon knows her stuff as much as anyone in the league.
“It’s women instead of men, but it’s the same game,” Popovich said earlier this summer, via The Associated Press. “Becky knows what to do on a pick-and-roll just as much as what Tony Parker knows, so I don’t think it’s unique at all.”
Thumbnail photo via Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports Images
