Rebecca Lynn Hammon (born March 11, 1977) is an American-Russian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is considered among the most influential figures in basketball, as a pioneer for female coaches in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one of the greatest players and coaches in WNBA history.
Hammon played college basketball for the Colorado State Rams, where she was a three-time All-American and left as the program's all-time leader in points and assists. Despite being undrafted, she played 16 seasons in the WNBA, with the New York Liberty and the San Antonio Silver Stars. She was one of the league's premier ball-handlers and passers, earning six WNBA All-Star and four All-WNBA selections. A naturalized Russian citizen, Hammon played for the Russian national team, with whom she won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame for her playing career in 2023.
Hammon was hired by the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA in 2014, becoming the first female full-time assistant coach in a major American sports league. During her tenure with the Spurs, she became the first woman to serve as a head coach in the NBA Summer League or as an acting head coach during an NBA game. Hammon left the Spurs in 2021 to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces; she was the first WNBA coach to earn over $1 million per year. She transformed the Aces into a dynasty, winning three WNBA championships in her first four seasons and receiving the WNBA Coach of the Year award as a rookie head coach.
Early life and education
Hammon was born in Rapid City, South Dakota. Hammon learned to dribble a basketball at a very young age, playing Nerf ball with her older brother and father, and continued to hone her skills on her home court.
On November 12, 2004, Hammon was inducted into the Colorado State University Sports Hall of Fame. On January 22, 2005, her number 25 Colorado State jersey was retired at Moby Arena.
Professional playing career
Undrafted during her rookie season, Hammon was signed to the WNBA on May 12, 1999, and joined the New York Liberty. She had a solid rookie season statistically, backing up starting point guard Teresa Weatherspoon. Her aggressive play at both ends of the court made her a favorite among Liberty fans. After the 2003 season, Hammon took over for Weatherspoon as the Liberty's starting point guard and, with Vickie Johnson and Crystal Robinson, became one of the team's co-captains in 2004.
In 2003, her first season with the Tennessee Fury of the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL), Hammon led the league in scoring, averaging 20.6 points per game. In 2004, Hammon signed with the Colorado Chill, a new team in the NWBL, but played in only two games because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury in her right knee sustained in the 2003 season when playing for the Liberty.
On August 16, 2005, Hammon scored her 2,000th WNBA career point. At the end of the 2005 season, she was named to the All-WNBA Second Team. In January 2007, she played her WNBA "off season" with Rivas Futura in the Spanish League.
On April 4, 2007, Hammon was traded to the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars. Hammon posted career high averages of 18.8 ppg (fourth best) and 5.0 apg in 2007. She led the league in assists that year. While in San Antonio, Hammon earned the nickname "Big Shot Becky" because of her ability to make shots in important moments. Her nickname was derived from "Big Shot Bob", a nickname given to San Antonio Spurs forward Robert Horry.
thumb|alt=Becky Hammon, Holding a microphone in a spotlight, speaking to the audience during her induction into the Ring of Honor|Becky Hammon speaking to the audience during her induction into the New York Liberty Ring of Honor in 2015thumb|left|alt=A gold ring with the words quote ring of honor" at the top six stars with jewelsin the symbol of the New York Liberty in the center|Replica of the Ring of honor awarded to Becky Hammon at her induction ceremony
In 2008, Hammon averaged 17.6 ppg, and 4.9 apg as she led the Silver Stars to a WNBA best record 24–10 and led them into the playoffs for a second straight year. In the conference semi-finals, Hammon scored 30 points in a Game 1 win against the Sacramento Monarchs. San Antonio would eventually win the series and advance to the Western Conference Finals. Following a loss in Game 1 and a win in Game 2, Hammon's 35 points propelled the Silver Stars to a victory in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Silver Stars advanced to the 2008 WNBA Finals, where they were defeated by the Detroit Shock 3–0.
Hammon averaged a career-high 19.5 ppg and 5.0 apg in the 2009 WNBA season. The Silver Stars had a record of 15–19 and lost to the eventual champion Phoenix Mercury in the first round. Hammon was an All-Star as well as a first-team All-WNBA selection. On August 31, 2011, Hammon became the seventh player in WNBA history to score 5,000 points. Later in the year, Hammon scored 37 points in a playoff-clinching win against the Los Angeles Sparks. Hammon retired from the WNBA in 2014. She is a six-time WNBA All-Star.
On August 2, 2015, Hammon was inducted into the Ring of Honor during halftime of the game between the New York Liberty and the Seattle Storm. The Ring of Honor recognizes players who have "made the most significant contributions to the Liberty's tradition of excellence and to the growth of the WNBA."
Coaching career
Hammon had long expressed aspirations of becoming a coach after her playing career ended. On July 13, 2013, Hammon tore her left anterior cruciate ligament in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks. During her year-long rehabilitation, Hammon attended the NBA's San Antonio Spurs' practices, coaches' meetings, and games, where she was frequently invited to contribute opinions.
San Antonio Spurs (2014–2021)
On August 5, 2014, Hammon was hired as an assistant coach for the Spurs as well as the second female coach, after Lisa Boyer worked as a volunteer assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers and John Lucas in 2001. Hammon's contribution to the staff made an impression on head coach Gregg Popovich. In a media statement released at the time of the hiring announcement, Popovich stated: "I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff. 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."
Hammon has been inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and has been selected as ESPNW's Woman of the Year.
On July 3, 2015, Hammon became the first female head coach in the NBA's Summer League when the Spurs announced she would coach their summer league team. Hammon led the Spurs to the Las Vegas Summer League title on July 20, 2015, becoming the first female NBA head coach to win a Summer League title.
At the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, Hammon became the first woman to be part of an All-Star coaching staff. On June 2, 2017, Hammon was interviewed for the position of general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks; she was not considered as a finalist for the position.
During her seventh season with the San Antonio Spurs, on December 30, 2020, Gregg Popovich was ejected in the second quarter of the Spurs' 121–107 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Hammon became the first Russian and first female acting head coach in NBA history.
In 2021, Hammon was the first woman to be a finalist for an NBA head coaching position when she interviewed with the Portland Trail Blazers. The job went to Chauncey Billups.
Las Vegas Aces (2021–present)
Hammon was hired as the head coach for the Las Vegas Aces on December 31, 2021. In her first year as head coach, Hammon's Aces won the 2022 WNBA Finals and she became the first rookie head coach to win the WNBA title. The following season, the Las Vegas Aces repeated as 2023 WNBA champions, with Hammon becoming the first coach to win back-to-back WNBA titles in 20 years. Becky Hammon then lead the Aces to their third championship in 2025, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury.
On August 12, 2023, Hammon was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for her contributions as a player and coach.
Career statistics
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| style="background:#E0CEF2; width:1em;"|
| WNBA record
|}
WNBA
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|1999
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 30 || 1 || 6.7 || .422 || .289 || .882 || .6 || .6 || .2 || .0 || .8 || 2.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2000
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 32 || 16 || 26.1 || .472 || .369 || .884 || 2.0 || 1.8 || .9 || .0 || 1.9 || 12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2001
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 32 || 0 || 19.3 || .457 || .378 || .784 || 1.6 || 1.6 || .8 || .0 || 1.5 || 8.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2002
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 32 || 1 || 20.6 || .442 || .386 || .679 || 2.1 || 1.7 || .8 || .0 || 1.7 || 8.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2003
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 11 || 2 || 23.4 || .575 || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|.469° || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|.951° || 1.9 || 1.6 || .9 || .1 || 2.4 || 14.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2004
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 34 || 34 || 33.2 || .432 || .335 || .836 || 3.5 || 4.4 || 1.7 || .1 || 3.4 || 13.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2005
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 34 || 34 || 34.7 || .432 || .365 || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|.901° || 3.4 || 4.3 || 1.8 || .1 || 3.1 || 13.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2006
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 22 || 20 || 30.8 || .425 || .343 || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|.960° || 3.0 || 3.7 || 1.3 || .1 || 2.9 || 14.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2007
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 28 || 26 || 33.4 || .445 || .404 || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|.931° || 2.8 || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|5.0° || .8 || .2 || 4.0 || 18.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2008
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 33 || 33 || 33.4 || .390 || .350 || .937 || 2.8 || 4.9 || 1.3 || .2 || 3.1 || 17.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2009
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 31 || 31 || 33.8 || .447 || .369 || .901 || 3.3 || 5.0 || 1.6 || .4 || 3.5 || 19.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2010
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 32 || 32 || 33.6 || .442 || .390 || style="background:#D3D3D3;"|.960° || 2.9 || 5.4 || 1.1 || .2 || 3.3 || 15.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2011
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 33 || 33 || 31.8 || .440 || .389 || .892 || 2.9 || 5.8 || 1.5 || .2 || 3.6 || 15.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2012
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 33 || 33 || 30.2 || .441 || .435 || .876 || 2.5 || 5.3 || .9 || .2 || 3.2 || 14.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2013
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 1 || 1 || 12.0 || .333 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || 3.0 || 2.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2014
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 32 || 32 || 24.5 || .417 || .398 || style="background:#E0CEF2;"|1.000 || 1.4 || 4.2 || .4 || .1 || 1.6 || 9.1
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 450 || 329 || 27.9 || .438 || .378 || .897 || 2.5 || 3.8 || 1.1 || .1 || 2.7 || 13.9
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|1999
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 6 || 0 || 8.3 || .167 || .222 || 1.000 || .2 || .8 || .0 || .0 || 1.0 || 2.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2000
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 7 || 7 || 29.4 || .429 || .304 || .895 || 1.4 || 2.1 || 1.3 || .0 || 2.4 || 9.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2001
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 6 || 0 || 8.0 || .353 || .300 || .000 || .5 || .3 || .2 || .0 || .5 || 2.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2002
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 8 || 0 || 22.9 || .537 || .424 || .875 || 2.1 || 2.0 || .6 || .0 || 1.3 || 9.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2004
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 5 || 5 || 35.6 || .392 || .333 || .400 || 2.6 || 3.4 || 1.2 || .0 || 3.8 || 10.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2005
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 2 || 2 || 38.0 || .450 || .286 || 1.000 || 3.5 || 2.0 || .0 || .0 || 5.0 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2007
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 5 || 5 || 35.0 || .413 || .444 || .800 || 2.8 || 5.0 || 1.2 || .2 || 3.2 || 20.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2008
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 9 || 9 || 36.8 || .421 || .458 || .895 || 2.3 || 4.6 || 1.0 || 0.6 || 3.4 || 18.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2009
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 3 || 3 || 33.7 || .463 || .381 || .900 || 2.7 || 2.0 || 1.7 || .0 || 2.3 || 18.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2010
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 2 || 2 || 37.0 || .393 || .389 || 1.000 || 3.5 || 5.5 || .5 || .0 || 4.0 || 20.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2011
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 3 || 3 || 34.7 || .350 || .391 || .857 || 2.7 || 4.3 || 1.7 || .7 || 3.0 || 16.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2012
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 2 || 2 || 35.0 || .500 || .364 || 1.000 || 3.0 || 4.5 || 1.0 || .0 || 3.5 || 17.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2014
| style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio
| 2 || 2 || 28.5 || .526 || .500 || 1.000 || 3.5 || 4.5 || 1.5 || .0 || 2.5 || 14.5
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 60 || 40 || 27.5 || .426 || .390 || .889 || 2.0 || 2.9 || .9 || .1 || 2.4 || 12.0
College
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1995–96
| style="text-align:left;" | Colorado State
|31||-||-||47.2||42.7||80.9||3.1||3.3||2.3||0.1||-||19.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1996–97
| style="text-align:left;" | Colorado State
|28||-||-||46.0||39.7||77.6||4.0||3.6||1.7||0.1||-||22.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1997–98
| style="text-align:left;" | Colorado State
|30||-||-||50.9||40.2||88.6||3.9||4.4||3.3||0.1||-||23.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1998–99
| style="text-align:left;" | Colorado State
|36||-||-||49.6||41.6||86.2||3.8||4.8||2.7||0.1||-||22.9
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 | Career
|125||-||-||48.5||41.1||84.1||3.7||4.1||2.5||0.1||-||21.9
|- class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.
Head coaching record
|-style="background:#FDE910;"
| style="text-align:left;" | Las Vegas
| style="text-align:left;" | 2022
| 36 || 26 || 10 || || style="text-align:center;" | 1st in Western || 10 || 8 || 2 ||
| style="text-align:center;"| Won WNBA Finals
|-style="background:#FDE910;"
| style="text-align:left;" | Las Vegas
| style="text-align:left;" | 2023
| 40 || 34 || 6 || || style="text-align:center;" | 1st in Western || 9 || 8 || 1 ||
| style="text-align:center;"| Won WNBA Finals
|-
| align="left" | Las Vegas
| align="left" |
| 40 || 27 || 13 || || 2nd in Western || 6 || 3 || 3 ||
| style="text-align:center;"| Lost in Semifinals
|-style="background:#FDE910;"
| align="left" | Las Vegas
| align="left" |
| 44 || 30 || 14 || || 2nd in Western || 12 || 9 || 3 ||
| style="text-align:center;"| Won WNBA Finals
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 160 || 117 || 43 || || || 37 || 28 || 9 ||
National team career
United States
thumb|Hammon at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]]
Hammon was named to the team representing the United States at the 1998 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The U.S. team, coached by Nell Fortner, won all five games, earning the gold medal for the competition. Hammon scored 18 points over the five games.
Russia
In 2008, after learning that she would not be invited to try out for the U.S. national team, Hammon announced she would try to claim a roster slot on the Russian national team in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Hammon became a Russian citizen in 2008, a decision that was controversial at the time among American basketball commentators. The coach of Russia's team, Igor Grudin, was also the sports director of the CSKA team that Hammon played for in Moscow during the WNBA off-season. Hammon also signed a three-year extension with CSKA Moscow at around the same time she was named as a prospect for the national team.
Hammon shot 1-for-6 from the field in a 67–52 loss to the United States in the 2008 Olympic semifinals, but helped the Russian team to win the bronze medal by scoring 22 points against China. She played for Russia at EuroBasket 2009, the 2010 World Championship and the 2012 Olympics.
In response to the detention of Brittney Griner in Russia due to alleged drug possession in 2022, Hammon joined other athletes to call for the release of Griner.
Popular culture
Hammon was shown in Marie Claire magazine's "The 8 Greatest Moments for Women in Sports".
Personal life
Hammon has been in a relationship with Brenda Milano since 2015. They have two sons.
Hammon is also a noted poker player in the WNBA off-season. In December 2023 she attended the inaugural World Series of Poker Paradise event, where her first tournament was the $5 million guaranteed $1,650 Mystery Millions.
Controversies
Russian national team controversy
Hammon's decision to gain naturalized Russian citizenship and play for the Russian national team in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics was controversial in the United States.
Hammon responded to Donovan's criticism saying, "You don't know me. You don't know what that flag means to me. You don't know how I grew up. The biggest honor in our classroom was who could put up the (American) flag, roll it up right, not let the corners touch the ground. Obviously we definitely define patriotism differently." She has also stated. "I love my country. I love our national anthem. It absolutely gives me chills sometimes. I feel honored to be an American, to be from America because of what we stand for."
She also said:<blockquote>The thing that took me off guard with Becky was that it hasn't happened in women's basketball before. And again, the that: that we didn't ask her to participate, that we didn't ask her to try out for our team, that's really what I had the most issue with. Becky made a great business decision and this was a great opportunity for her to get to the Olympic Games. I hold no grudge and more power to her. But the it when it first came out were not accurate. Becky came, had a great experience; I'm glad we're going to the gold medal game. This suspension was the result of a multi-month investigation into Hamby's allegations of discrimination and mistreatment at the hands of Hammon and the Aces after informing them of her pregnancy in August 2022, a pregnancy she alleges is also what led to the team trading her to Los Angeles Sparks in January 2023. The WNBA's investigation included interviews with 33 people, in addition to a review of documents including texts and emails, and further resulted in the Aces losing their first round 2025 draft pick. It further alleges Hammon told Hamby that she did not "hold up her end of the bargain," implying that Hamby had implicitly agreed not to get pregnant when she signed her two-year contract extension.</blockquote>The lawsuit is currently ongoing.
See also
- List of female NBA coaches