PAU: HIRE HAMMON
Gasol pens essay on Players’ Tribune advocating for Becky to get head coaching job in NBA
Leave it to the erudite Pau Gasol to place an exclamation point between the ellipses.
Gasol, long known as one of the NBA’s most cerebral figures, penned an eloquent essay posted on The Players’ Tribune on Friday morning that bolstered the head coaching candidacy of Becky Hammon.
The Spurs assistant coach made history in 2014 when Gregg Popovich hired her for his staff and again in 2015 when she led the franchise’s NBA Summer League team to the title in Las Vegas. Hammon is poised to interview for the head coaching vacancy with the Bucks, the same franchise she interviewed with last summer for its vacant general manager position.
In both instances, Hammon is the first female candidate to be considered for such positions.
“I’ve played with some of the best players of this generation ... and I’ve played under two of the sharpest minds in the history of sports, in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich,” Gasol wrote. “And I’m telling you: Becky Hammon can coach. I’m not saying she can coach pretty well. I’m not saying she can coach enough to get by. I’m not saying she can coach almost at the level of the NBA’s male coaches. I’m saying: Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball. Period.”
Gasol, who played for the Bulls from 2014-16 before signing with the Spurs, both downplayed and celebrated the progressive nature of Hammon’s candidacy. He downplayed it in the sense that her mind and acumen make her a natural candidate. He celebrated it in the sense it’s another example of the NBA’s forward thinking and inclusive nature.
“It’s this beautiful thing, you know, to see the NBA begin to reflect the larger world,” Gasol wrote. “Because it’s such a big world, isn’t it? And I think any time you can expand your horizons, toward something new and meaningful ... it can only make you a better person.
“Which is also why I’m so encouraged to see this league taking the lead on so many important issues. I see it when we’re coming together over something as urgent as Black Lives Matter ... I see it when guys like DeMar (DeRozan) and Kevin (Love) are being vocal and open about emotional wellbeing ... I see it when Adam Silver, our commissioner, is marching in an LGBTQ pride parade ... I see it when MVPs like Steph (Curry) and LeBron (James) keep showing the world that nobody is too famous to use their platform to stand up for what they believe in ... and of course I see it when a franchise like the Bucks is willing to give an interview for their head-coaching vacancy to a candidate who — male or female — absolutely deserves it.”
Gasol, who also alluded to the Suns hiring the first Europeanborn head coach in Igor Kokoskov, then urged the league not to be satisfied and to keep growing. He used his personal experience of being raised by a mother who was a doctor and a father who was a nurse to challenge stereotypical thinking.
The NBA’s history would suggest it will keep growing. This is the first league to feature female officials. It has multiple minorities in coaching and executive and league management positions.
During a group interview in Las Vegas in 2015 when the Spurs played just before the Bulls, Popovich seemed to distill Hammon’s coaching chops to the most basic and elemental form.
“It’s women instead of men, but it’s the same game,” Popovich said. “Becky knows what to do on a pick-and-roll just as much as what Tony Parker knows, so I don’t think it’s unique at all.”
When the Spurs won that Summer League title, Hammon received a Gatorade shower — just as plenty of other coaches have, just as it should be.