Becky Hammon made history on Wednesday, becoming the first woman to act as a head coach in a game in the NBA regular season.
The San Antonio assistant coach came in for head coach Gregg Popovich after he was ejected in the first half of the Spurs’ 121-107 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Lakers.
“Obviously it’s a big deal, it’s a substantial moment,” Hammon said after the game. “I’ve been part of this organization. I traded here in 2007, so I’ve been to San Antonio and been part of the Spurs and sports organization with the Stars and all for 13 years. So I invested a lot of time, and they have invested a lot of time in me to build me up and make me better. “
Popovich suffered a technical foul and was run from the match with 3:56 left in the second quarter for arguing with the referee over a no-call with his team behind the Lakers 52-41.
Hammon is in her seventh season with the Spurs coaching staff and was a six-time All-Star in the WNBA with the New York Liberty and San Antonio Silver Stars.
When Popovich was sent off from a game against the Portland Trail Blazers last November, and Hammon and the rest of the Spurs staff filled it up in his absence. After the match, however, Popovich said assistant Tim Duncan eventually took on head coaching responsibilities to finish the match.
Duncan retired from a full-time coaching role with the Spurs during the off-season.
Hammon, 43, was named as a returning nominee to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 2021. Popovich was asked about Hammon’s credentials before the game Wednesday.
“Obviously I think a lot of her abilities she hired her. It all started when I saw her play,” said Popovich. “She was a leader, everyone on the team responded to her, she was very confident, very competitive and she led the whole show. And when I got to know her, she was in our coaches meetings before she was hired, while she was hurt after season, we found out about her talent for the game, her innate understanding of what wins, what loses, what it takes to create a program. So she has all the tools needed to be a great coach in our competition. “