Becky Hammon - The Underdog

BASKETBALL - WNBA - NY LIBERTY - SAN ANTONIO SILVER STARS -

NBA - ASSISTANT COACH - SAN ANTONIO SPURS

ARCHETYPE: THE UNDERDOG

Day 79/135

Athletic Accomplishments

No matter where she plays or coaches, Becky Hammon is going to shine.

While in high school, Hammon was named South Dakota Miss Basketball and voted South Dakota Player of the Year, after averaging 26 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals per game.

At 5’6”, Hammon didn’t attract much attention from college scouts. But she ultimately signed with Colorado State where she had massive success, leading the team to the Sweet Sixteen. Hammon was a three-time All-American, setting all-time records for CSU in six categories: points (2740), points per game (21.92), field goals made (918), free throws made (539), three-point field goals made (365), and assists (538). She was also named the WAC Mountain Division player of the year in 1998–99 and became the WAC's all-time leading scorer. Her No. 25 jersey was retired in 2005.

You’d think that stellar career would have been enough to punch her ticket to the WNBA, but Hammon went undrafted in 1999. In May, she signed with the New York Liberty, where she became a fan favorite for her hard-nosed defense and hustle.

In 2007, Hammon was traded to the San Antonio Silver Stars, where she continued to thrive, putting up career high numbers and leading the league in assists. In 2008, Hammon led the Silver Stars to the best record in the WNBA and the Finals.

After 16 seasons in the WNBA, Hammon retired in 2014 as a six-time WNBA All-Star, who was later inducted into the Ring of Honor, which recognizes players for significant contributions to “the Liberty's tradition of excellence and to the growth of the WNBA." The San Antonio Silver Stars retired Hammon’s No. 25 jersey in 2016.

These days, you can still find Hammon on the court, but now, she’s gripping a clipboard and coaching for the San Antonio Spurs. She was hired as an assistant to head coach Gregg Popovich in 2014, becoming only the second female coach in NBA history.

In December of 2020, Hammon became the first woman to act as head coach in an NBA game after Popovich was ejected in the second quarter of a game against the Lakers. “You got ‘em,” is all he said to Hammon as he walked back into the locker room. And just like that, history.

Character Archetype: The Underdog

People have been underestimating Becky Hammon her whole life.

She was considered too small and slow to play basketball in college, before signing with Colorado State, where she led the team to the Sweet Sixteen, was named WAC Mountain Division player of the year, became the WAC’s all-time leading scorer, and set the CSU record for points, points per game, and assists.

Even so, Hammon went undrafted in the 1999 WNBA Draft, before signing with the New York Liberty later in the year. She went on to be a six-time WNBA All-Star, and earning the nickname “Big Shot Becky” with the San Antonio Silver Stars, where she was the leading scorer, known for getting clutch buckets on the way to the WNBA Finals.

Now, old heads want to tell Hammon that she can’t coach in the NBA, despite being an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs since 2014. Despite head coach Gregg Popovich reiterating that she’s primetime ready. Despite her current players and past players shouting from the mountaintops that Coach Hammon is the truth.

So let the doubters and haters do what they do. And let Hammon do what she’s always done: prove them wrong, take the W, and keep shining.