San Antonio Spurs Make History; Hire WNBA Legend Becky Hammon As First Female Assistant Coach

Standing at 5’6” tall, six-time WNBA all-star Becky Hammon has to look up at most NBA players, but starting next season, NBA players will have to start looking up to her as she teaches and coaches them. Hammon made NBA history on Tuesday when the defending champion San Antonio Spurs made her the first ever female assistant coach.

Invoking images of the 1996 film, Eddie, where Whoopi Goldberg played Eddie Franklin, a limo driver who became the first female NBA coach of the New York Knicks, Hammon will man the sidelines alongside Gregg Popovich. “I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff,” Poppovich said in a statement released by the Spurs on Tuesday. “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.”

The historic hire will hopefully help segue more females into the NBA in positions of power. The NBA, which has predominately been a boys only club for the better part of a half century, has had only a handful of female hires over the years. Natalie Nakase was hired as an assistant video coordinator for the Los Angeles Clippers this year to help with their summer league team. Lisa Boyer, was a volunteer assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2001-2002 season, but she never traveled with the team.

The Spurs are the perfect organization to make such a groundbreaking hire. From top to bottom, the Spurs have always been unconventional in their organizational decisions and it has helped make them one of the most successful franchises over the past twenty years. The Spurs roster is composed of a bevy of international players and the team is one of the most innovative at utilizing their players to achieve maximum potential.

The Spurs have lost multiple assistant coaches over the past year including Brett Brown and Mike Budenhoizer who became the head coaches of both the Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks, respectively. Hiring Hammon, an outside the box pick, might be a long term strategy for the Spurs of keeping their assistant coaches from being poached by other NBA teams.

Hammon however is extremely talented and bolsters an impressive resume. She played sixteen seasons in the NBA, including eight for the San Antonio Stars. She is currently the Star’s all-time leader in assists and three-point field goals and ranks in the top 10 of most WNBA categories all-time. If the Spurs continue their otherworldly success and Hammon garners praise and admiration from NBA players, she will be a sought after commodity for NBA coaching jobs in the future.

“Obviously, this is a big deal. The bigger the deal is I feel like there’s been greater pioneers to even get to this point,” Hammon told the media about the hire. “I hope little girls can say, ‘Hey look! People can do whatever they put their mind to.’ I feel incredibly blessed and I’ll just do my best… and work my tail off.”