Spurs Name Becky Hammon First Female Assistant Coach in NBA
By Eben Novy-Williams
Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The defending champion San Antonio Spurs made Becky Hammon the first female assistant coach in National Basketball Association history.
Hammon, 37, is currently playing in her 16th and final Women’s National Basketball Association season. A guard for the San Antonio Stars, she ranks seventh in WNBA history in points (5,809), fourth in assists (1,687) and sixth in games (445).
Hammon joins a Spurs franchise that won the NBA title last season, its fourth in the past 12 years. San Antonio has had a winning record in each of the past 17 seasons.
“Having observed her working with our team this past season, I’m confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said on the team website.
The team didn’t announce terms of the contract, citing club policy.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said in an e-mail that he has no record of a female assistant in the league before Hammon. Nancy Lieberman coached in the NBA’s development league, and the NBA has female referees.
