Becky Hammon made history on Wednesday night by becoming the first woman in history to hold the position of head coach during a regular season NBA game. On Wednesday night, with 3:56 to play until halftime, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich got ejected, which led to Hammon stepping into the role for the remainder of the game.
Spurs assistant Becky Hammon filled in for an ejected Gregg Popovich.
— ESPN (@espn) December 31, 2020
She's believed to be the first woman to act as head coach during an NBA regular-season game. pic.twitter.com/VyQqVNaPhc
The Spurs would fall to the Los Angeles Lakers in the contest 121-107, but the moment of Hammon coaching is what fans will remember for much longer than the game itself.
During the post-game press conference, Hammon gave her impression of what happened.
“Honestly, in the moment, I was just trying to win the game. I say this a lot, but I try not to think about the huge picture and the huge aspect of it, because it can get overwhelming,” said Hammon. “Obviously, it’s a big deal. It’s a substantial moment. I’ve been a part of this organization – I got traded [to San Antonio] in 2007 (WNBA), so I’ve been in San Antonio and part of the organization (Stars and Spurs) for thirteen years.”
Since 2014, Hammon has been an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs. At that time she became the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history, and the first full-time female assistant coach for any of the big four professional sports (NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB) in the United States.
Hammon was a standout basketball player in high school for Rapid City Stevens, which included such accolades as South Dakota Miss Basketball and South Dakota Player of the Year.
After high school she went on to have an All-American (3X) career at Colorado State, followed by sixteen-year career in the Women’s National Basketball Association with New York and San Antonio. Hammon was a six-time all-star in the WNBA and since retirement has had her No. 25 jersey retired by the San Antonio Stars organization.
Hammon has interviewed for several head coaching jobs over the past few years in the NBA but has yet to get the position offered to her. There has been plenty of speculation that Becky Hammon could soon become the first full-time head coach in league history as well.
