Hammon leaving Spurs to lead Aces
Becky Hammon was ready to lead her own team. So she went back to where her professional career began – the WNBA.
Hammon, an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, will take over as the Las Vegas Aces’ head coach after the NBA season concludes.
“Being the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces is a step forward and a step in the right direction for myself and for women’s basketball,” Hammon said. “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this opportunity that I have. There’s something to being a head coach.”
Hammon has spent eight seasons as a Spurs assistant and has interviewed for several NBA head coaching jobs. But for now, her dream of becoming the first woman to lead an NBA team is on hold.
“I sat in head coaching interviews (in the NBA) and people said two things: ‘You’ve only been in San Antonio and you’ve never been a head coach,’” she said. “NBA jobs are hard to get. In some ways, I feel like the NBA maybe is close. In other ways, I feel like they’re a long ways off from hiring (a woman head coach). I don’t know when it could happen.”
There are still a half dozen women assistant coaches in the NBA. Hammon’s resume earned her plenty of respect: She will be the WNBA’S highest-paid coach.
Hammon will replace Bill Laimbeer, who has been with the team since it moved to Las Vegas in 2017 and led the Aces on deep playoff runs the past three seasons, including a WNBA Finals appearance in 2020. Last season, the 64year-old coach took a step back, letting assistant Tanisha Wright run more practices and in-game huddles. Wright left in the offseason to be the head coach of the Atlanta Dream.