Birthday: March 11, 1977
Who Is Becky Hammon?
Becky Hamon is a former basketball player and a professional basketball coach. She is currently working as the assistant coach for the National Basketball Association (NBA) team, San Antonio Spurs. Becky was a three-time All-American player of the Colorado State University's women's basketball team, the Colorado State Rams. She also played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for the New York Liberty and the San Antonio Stars before ultimately pursuing her career as a professional basketball coach.
Five Facts About Becky Hammon
- Despite being a full-blooded American, Becky was able to play for Russia's Women's Basketball National Team during the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
- Becky is the first full-time female assistant coach in the history of the NBA.
- Becky was also the second female assistant coach in the history of the NBA.
- She was featured in "The 8 Greatest Moments for Women in Sports," as seen in the magazine, Marie Claire.
- Despite having numerous achievements during her student years, college recruiters overlooked Becky. She was only recruited during the summer before her senior year by an assistant coach for the Colorado State Rams.
Famous Quotes From Becky Hammon
"Hope and encouragement, especially hope, is probably one of the greatest things you can give another person."
"I can't open doors that aren't open. But if a door opens, I would be happy to walk through."
Biography Of Becky Hammon
Early Life
Rebecca Lynn Hammon, also known as Becky Hammon, was born and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota. Becky grew up to be a devout Christian. She was already dribbling when she was a child and played nerf ball with her older brother. Seeing this potential at a very young age, her father and older brother groomed her to be a basketball player.
Becky played for the Stevens High School women's basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota. She was dubbed "South Dakota Miss Basketball" during her junior year and was declared "South Dakota Player of the Year" during her senior year because of her stat average of 26 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals in every game. In 1995, Becky graduated from Stevens High School and was dubbed as "female class athlete" by the graduating class.
Despite her achievements during her high school year, college basketball recruiters have overlooked Becky, thinking that she was too slow and short. However, during a camp in Indiana, she was noticed by Kari Gallegos-Doering, an assistant coach for the Colorado State Rams. The assistant coach mentioned that "She could just do things and go around people and make passes" and that she made her opponents look silly due to her pure skill and talent. Becky signed up for the Rams shortly after.
Due to her incredible stats during her time at the Colorado State Rams, she was made an All-American a total of three times. She was dubbed "Colorado Sportswoman of the Year." The Colorado State Rams advanced to the NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Tournament, also known as the Sweet Sixteen. She was also crowned as Player of the Year by the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Mountain Division, surpassing Keith Van Horn, a player from the University of Utah, as the "all-time lead scorer" of the WAC.
Professional Career as a Basketball Player
Becky's professional basketball career began when she signed for the WNBA in 1999, joining the team, New York Liberty. There, she began to wow basketball fans, be it Liberty fans or other team supporters, since she played aggressively on both ends of the court. She started as a support for Teresa Weatherspoon, the Liberty's point guard at that time, and later on becoming a point guard herself and a co-captain in 2004. Her right knee sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during her time with the Liberty.
Becky also played for the Colorado Chill in 2004, a new NWBL team, but only played for two games due to her injury. By the end of 2005's season, she was named the Second Team of the All-WNBA.
In 2007, Becky was traded into the San Antonio Silver Stars, a WNBA team. Becky led the team for years, earning the nickname "Big Shot Becky," a nickname based on the nickname of Robert Horry, San Antonio Spurs' forward, due to her skill of making detrimental shots during tight moments.
However, her basketball career was put on hold due to her anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Professional Career as a Coach
During her rehabilitation for her knee, she attended practice sessions of the San Antonio Spurs, a professional NBA team, and the San Antonio Silver Stars counterpart. She contributed opinions on playing styles, team formation, etc. during practices, impressing the head coach of the Spurs, Gregg Popovich.
In 2014, she was officially hired as the Spurs' assistant coach, making her the first full-time female assistant coach and the second female assistant coach in NBA history. During her seventh season as an assistant coach of the Spurs in 2020, Popovich was ejected during the second quarter of the match between the Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers. During this time, Becky became the first female to act as a head coach in NBA's history.
To this day, Becky Hammon is still the assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs.
