The San Antonio Spurs announced on Wednesday that 42-year-old assistant coach Becky Hammon has been promoted to the front of bench. Hammon will assume the role vacated by James Borrego, who was hired to be the Charlotte Hornets’ new head coach, putting her one step closer to making history as the NBA’s first woman head coach.
Dr Joan Fallon on Twitter
The @spurs @BeckyHammon is one step closer to becoming a head coach @NBA #basketball @ESPNNBA @WNBA @nyliberty @ColoradoStateU #pioneer @WomensHealthMag @WomenSportTrust https://t.co/7fz20SdKJC
When the Spurs hired Hammon as an assistant coach in 2014, it was the beginning of a historical journey. She was the second woman to be named a bench assistant coach in league history and the first one to collect a full-time salary.
Before Hammons appointment, there hadn’t been a single female assistant on an NBA bench since Lisa Boyer spent a year with the disastrous Cavaliers during the 2001-02 season.
After some years of tutelage under the great Gregg Popovich, Hammons time to make history is swiftly approaching.
The six-time WNBA All-Star landed an interview with the Milwaukee Bucks for their vacant head-coaching job this offseason before they hired Mike Budenholzer.
The Shadow League on Twitter
Becky Hammon will be interviewed for the Bucks head coaching job, becoming the first woman ever to do so, per @wojespn.
Having gone through the interview process, her prospects for a job should be even higher in 2019.
Bet Chicago on Twitter
Spurs assistant Becky Hammon is one step closer to being an NBA head coach. Where could she fit as soon as 2019? https://t.co/0UbY2de8tq
Despite Hammons obvious qualifications, some chauvinistic male minds believe that she isnt ready to ascend to a head coaching position. In May, while she was being considered for the Bucks head coaching vacancy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer Gary D’Amato wrote an article in which he expressed that he thinks the risk is too big for the Bucks to take. He said the timing wasnt right and if Hammon fails it would have set the Milwaukee Bucks franchise back years as they are on the verge of contention and still control the Greek Freak, one of the games young rising stars.
But players around the league, including LeBron James and Pau Gasol, have been co-signing Hammon as a capable and qualified head coaching candidate.
Cheryl Reeve on Twitter
An Open Letter About Female Coaches | By Pau Gasol
I grew up just outside of Barcelona, a child of two highly successful professionals. My father was a nurse and my mother was a doctor. Naturally, I took to studying science – and after high school I even did one year of med school, before eventually devoting my time fully to basketball.
The NBA has been the utopia of sports diversity and their status as such was solidified with Dr. Richard Lapchick’s recent Racial and Gender Report card, in which the league once again established itself as the industry leader among men’s sports for hiring practices.
Hammon is going to get a shot. Shes gone through the protocol and moved up the ladder. Her current position on the Spurs bench leaves her with just one more level to go, and thats full-time head coach for an NBA franchise.
