Becky Hammon became the first woman to coach an important North American professional sports team when she took over from San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich after he was kicked out of a game on Wednesday – a landmark moment that culminated in an innovative year for women in a sector dominated by men.
Hammon knew she would be replacing Popovich when he pointed to her and said three words that would break the gender barrier in sports.
“You do,” he said.
“When Pop gives us an order,” said Hammon later, “let’s go with her.”
Popovich was sent off in the second quarter of the Spurs’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers for arguing with a referee. Hammon took over as coach for the rest of the game – standing up to score plays, sitting in the middle of the team during breaks and doing the job like all the men before her in NBA history.
“I didn’t go into the arena thinking I was going to be the coach tonight,” said Hammon. “But this is how things happen, and you roll with it.” She added: “I would have loved to win tonight more than anything.”
His rise to interim head coach was a pioneering landmark that was treated without much fanfare. There was no one to recognize the moment in an empty arena, and Spurs are so used to hearing from Hammon in practice that they reacted to the replacement coach as if it were “business as usual”, she said. Only after the game did she allow herself to recognize the magnitude of the occasion.
Becky Hammon questions a phone call after taking over as coach on Wednesday.
Photograph:
Scott Wachter / Reuters
“Obviously, it’s a big deal,” she said. “I try not to think about the huge image and the huge aspect of it, because it can be overwhelming. It’s my job to go out there and be focused on these guys and make sure I’m helping them do the things that will help us win. I really didn’t have time to reflect. ”
Hammon, a 43-year-old former WNBA player, has been an assistant to Spurs since 2014, moving from a seat behind the bench to a seat on the bench and the chair next to Popovich, the coach with five NBA titles. She herself was a legendary player and it was her playing career that brought her to San Antonio in the first place, as she was traded to the defunct Silver Stars in 2007 and quickly became acquainted with the other basketball team in the city.
She has long commanded the respect of NBA players.
“Guys aren’t really an issue,” she said. “Their attitude and approach is always great for me – really in the whole league. You can go on any team. They’re almost super aware of it, so they give me great eye contact, they give me great focus, they give me great energy. I want to be sure to give them all back. ”
Given his experience as a player, pedigree and experience with Popovich and the Spurs – the NBA’s most respected coach and one of the league’s model franchises – Hammon was widely expected to be the first female head coach in the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball or NHL long before Wednesday night.
It almost happened last season in another game, when Popovich was sent off. As his oldest assistant coach, Hammon was the natural choice to train for him in a difficult situation. For a while, on that night in November 2019, it seemed that she was the acting coach, since she was the one who held a clipboard and initially addressed the players after the ejection.
Spurs clarified after the game that the job was officially for another Popovich assistant, Tim Duncan, who happened to be one of the greatest players of all time in the NBA. His playing career had nothing to do with the temporary promotion. The team said Duncan was chosen instead of Hammon because he was the coach responsible for watching the opponent that night.
Your opportunity came on Wednesday night. Popovich left the court and Hammon entered the story.
Her rise came a month after the Miami Marlins hired longtime baseball executive Kim Ng as general manager, making her the first woman to lead team operations in one of the big men’s sports leagues.
Hammon was not the first woman to be an assistant in the NBA. And there are others training this season, including former MIT female coach Sonia Raman, who was hired by the Memphis Grizzlies after the Notre Dame women’s team stole Niele Ivey from her team. Many people in the league believe that Hammon is ready for another first time soon.
“She has all the tools necessary to be a great coach in our league,” said Popovich hours before Wednesday’s game.
Write to Ben Cohen at [email protected]
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