With an NBA Summer League championship under her belt, Becky Hammon is the talk of the town in San Antonio. Last season, Hammon became the first woman to hold an NBA assistant coaching staff position, and now she’s the first woman to ever coach a Summer League team to a championship. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has openly expressed his confidence and belief in Hammon as a coach in the NBA, and her support only continues to spread.
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports that multiple executives see Hammon’s potential as a future NBA head coach:
In conversations with multiple team executives and decision-makers around the NBA, there is no question Hammon has gained traction as a potentially serious head-coaching candidate. Just as important, the conventional thinking about what teams look for in a coach have begun to shift dramatically.
With some more huddles under her command, and more gameplans up her sleeve, Hammon could prove to be the woman who arrives at the right place at the right time in a sports culture that is primed for new thinking.
“Why not?” one Eastern Conference executive told CBSSports.com. “She has the qualities necessary, and with an organization’s backing, she could do it. She’s obviously learned under the best.”
Another Eastern Conference executive said, “She would be high on my list. She’s short-list worthy.”
Hammon has established her NBA presence in barrier-breaking fashion. Her rapport and level of respect from players is unquestioned, and as one executive mentioned to Berger, she’s clearly qualified. Her qualifications only magnify with more time coaching with Gregg Popovich. It’s still on these teams to want to take that step, but at this rate, Hammon is surely in line to potentially become the NBA’s first female head coach.
