Becky Hammon the first full time women associate!
The San
Antonio Spurs have hired former six time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon to be an
assistant coach. The 2nd women associate in NBA history. First being
Lisa Boyer, who was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers coaching staff during
the 2001-02 season. However Lisa never traveled with the team, which makes
Becky the first full time women associate to travel with an NBA team.
Becky played 16 seasons in the WNBA, the past eight with the
San Antonio Stars. She finished seventh all time in points (5,809), fourth in
assists (1,687) and sixth in games played (445).
After a career ending knee injury last year, coach Pop once
again invited her to participate in practices and coaches meetings, like she
had in prior years. He had this to say about her recent hire “I very much look
forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff. 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.”
What better place could this have come to fruition? It’s a
plus for many reasons, one she learns from the best, whether it’s players like Tim
Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, and Coach Greg Popovich. Who may be the most
respected coach in the NBA, he will be her guide. She comes into a great
situation, The team just won the NBA Championship, Pop and Tony signed extensions,
Tim opted into the last year of his contract. Not to mention they are a favorite in the west to return to the finals again this season. It’s a roster
full of Vet’s and good character.
In 2008 Pop told the media “ She (Becky) wants to coach
after she’s done. Because she’s not just a great player she’s a smart player, a
great person in our community, just somebody that we all respect so much, we
gave her an opportunity to sit with us during the year. She came to our
coaches’ meetings, argued with us, she did everything.”
This hire opens up opportunities for many other women
coaches. People seem to believe that male athletes will have a hard time being
told what to do by women. Why is that? We all grew up with a mom, she told us
what we could and couldn’t do, and we respected her. Some of us have bosses who are
females, yet we listen to what they say and follow their lead. Why should it be
any different in the sports world? If coach Pop has confidence in her abilities
and knowledge of the game, that’s all one should need.
WATCH!
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