CSU Hall of Fame member and former WNBA standout Becky Hammon continues to make history and blaze new paths for women in athletics as she led the San Antonio Spurs team to a title in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League.
The 1999 Naismith Award winner became the first woman to head coach an NBA team just a few days ago. Monday she led the Spurs to a 93-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns in the Summer League tournament championship game.
The tournament, now in its third year, gives young players and coaches an opportunity to develop their game against similar up-and-coming NBA talent. Many of the stars of tomorrow, on the court and on the bench, will be made in-part in Summer League play.
“It’s amazing. It was a humbling experience,” Jonathon Simmons, the championship game MVP told NBATV about playing for Hammon. “For all of us. I really love her and I’ve only known her a couple days. She’s a real cool coach. She’s a player coach. That’s something we all like.”
But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t handle herself like a true coach. At one point in the game, Hammon took her team into a timeout and shouted at them to keep their focus and intensity.
Hammon brought a stellar list of accomplishments to the Spurs when she was hired in August 2014 as the first female assistant coach in NBA history. In addition to her Naismith award, Hammon set numerous all-time marks at Colorado State, including points, points per game, field goals, free throws, 3-point field goals and assists. She was only the seventh woman to score more than 5,000 points in the WNBA and was a six-time All-Star and was twice named to the All-WNBA First Team.
And like any good coach, Hammon wants little credit – especially for her current successes. That, she saves for her players.
“It’s just a credit to (the players),” Hammon said after the game. “They found a little bit of a groove with each other and they got it done on the defensive end. Our last two or three games came down to getting defensive stops, so that’s the thing I’m most proud of.”
Hammon will return to the Spurs bench, continuing as an assistant under Gregg Popovich for the 2015-16 season and the foreseeable future. If her performance at the NBA Summer League is any indication, Popovich will want to keep her around – at least until another team comes calling with a bigger opportunity.