Becky Hammon made history on Wednesday, becoming the first woman to act as coach during a regular season NBA game.
The San Antonio assistant coach replaced head coach Gregg Popovich after being sent off in the first half of the Spurs’ 121-107 defeat by the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Obviously, it’s a big deal, it’s a substantial time,” said Hammon after the game. “I was part of this organization. I was traded here in 2007, so I was in San Antonio and I was part of the Spurs and the sports organization with the stars and everything for 13 years. So, I have invested a lot of time, and they invested a lot of time in me to build myself and become better. “
Popovich received a technical foul and was sent off with 3:56 remaining in the second quarter for arguing with the referee about a no-call with his team behind the Lakers 52-41.
Hammon is in his seventh season on the Spurs’ technical team and has been six times All-Star at WNBA with New York Liberty and San Antonio Silver Stars.
When Popovich was kicked out of a game against the Portland Trail Blazers last November, Hammon and the rest of the Spurs team replaced him during his absence. After the game, however, Popovich said that assistant Tim Duncan ended up taking on the responsibilities of head coach to end the game.
Duncan left the position of full-time coach with the Spurs during the off-season.
Hammon, 43, was nominated as a candidate back to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 2021. Popovich was asked about Hammon’s credentials before the game on Wednesday.
“Obviously, I think a lot about her skills for signing her. It all started when I saw her play,” said Popovich. “She was a leader, everyone on the team reacted to her, she was very confident, very competitive and led the entire show. And when I met her and she was at our coaches’ meetings before she was hired, while she hurt after the season, we discovered her talent for the game, her innate understanding of what wins, what loses, what has to be there for make a program. So she has all the tools she needs to be a hell of a coach in our league. “