'I love being back on the women's side. I don't need the stamp of approval from the NBA.' BeckyHammon, a trailblazing force in American sports, isn't waiting for the NBA to call. She speaks to seanmgregory
in the championship game, created more buzz than the men’s event.
, Dirk Nowitzki, and her mentor Popovich. “She is overqualified,” says Aces guard Kelsey Plum, “to be an NBA coach.”The new season starts May 19, with the Aces returning as champions but also facing two investigations by the WNBA, one related to the salary cap and the other related to allegations of mistreatment by a pregnant player who was traded. Meanwhile, Hammon remains on the NBA’s radar.
Colorado State, however, took a flier on Hammon, and in 1996 she was the highest-scoring freshman in the nation, averaging 19.2 points per game. Hammon led the Rams to three NCAA tournaments, including a Sweet 16 appearance. “She had endless range,” says Los Angeles Sparks coach Curt Miller, who was an assistant at Colorado State during Hammon’s senior year. “She was a tremendously accurate three-point shooter.
In NBA head-coaching interviews, she says, executives asked her why she thinks guys will follow her. “It’s like, I don’t know if you’re asking that to all the male coaches, but it seems like a weird question,” says Hammon. “Why am I here if you don’t think athletes would follow me? BecauseThey also asked how she’d conduct her coaching in a men’s locker room. “You learn how to reverse the conversation and be like, ‘Well, why is nobody throwing a fit over Geno Auriemma coaching women?’” she says.
Hammon and Spurs guard Patty Mills on the bench next to head coach Gregg Popovich, right, and assistant coach Ime Udoka, now the head coach of the Houston Rockets.In the WNBA, Hammon hasn’t altered her leadership style. “At the end of the day, leadership is genderless,” she says “And competitive athletes are competitive athletes. If they feel like you can give them information to help them gain an advantage, to help them win, I don’t care if it’s Kermit the Frog telling them, they will listen.
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