Winds of Change?

San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon (R) talks to shooting guard Manu Ginobili (20) during the first half against the Indiana Pacers at AT&T Center. (USA TODAY Sports / Soobum Im)

   You have heard of Brittney Griner and Rebecca Lobo.  You have probably even heard of Cheryl Miller and Dawn Staley.  But have you ever heard of Becky Hammon?  Chances are you haven’t…until now.

            So who is Becky Hammon? 

Until now, Hammon was only known to WNBA enthusiasts and NBA followers.  Undrafted out of college, where she was an All-American at Colorado State and surpassed Keith Van Horn to become the WAC’s all-time leading scorer, Hammon signed with the New York Liberty where she quickly became a fan favorite for her aggressive style of play offensively and defensively.  Hammon was traded to the San Antonio Silver Spurs in 2007 where she led the league in scoring and assists.  She was named to the All-WNBA First Team for the first time in her career.  She was also a 3 time All-Star with the Silver Spurs.

Hammon is not without controversy though.  After not being asked to try out for the 2008 U. S. national team, Hammon decided to became a naturalized Russian citizen in an effort to play in the Olympics for Russia, whose national team was being coached by Hammons WNBA “off season” basketball coach.  She played for Russia in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, leading Russia to the 2008 Olympic Bronze Medal.

Hammon left it all out on the court being forced to retire due to injuries.  She retired as 6x WNBA All Star, 2x All-WNBA first team selection and became the 7^th player in WNBA history to score 5,000 career points.  In 2014, she was hired by the San Antonio Spurs and became the first ever full time woman’s assistant coach in the NBA.  This past summer, she became the first ever female head coach in the NBA summer league coaching the San Antonio Spurs summer league team, leading them to an NBA summer league title and becoming the first female NBA head coach to win a summer league title.

So who is Becky Hammon?  She is a pioneer and she very well could be the next San Antonio Spurs head coach.