Rebecca ‘Becky’ Hammon became the first woman to lead an NBA team during a regular season game this Wednesday night in the duel between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. Hammon, stayed at the helm of the Spurs when the veteran coach, Gregg Popovich, Was sent off in the second quarter.
“She has worked hard and whenever you do the job you will be rewarded with opportunities. Obviously she has been paying flat fee in recent years, coach Pop has given her the opportunity to be the coach of an elite team and coming in as head coach if something happened to him, like it happened today, ”Lebron James noted.
Hammon was a player of the University of Colorado and later, as a professional, he defended the colors of the New York Liberty i San Antonio Stars from WNBA. He also played in Europe before retiring as an athlete. Becky has dual nationality, American and Russian. He defended the colors of the selection of bars and stars in the Williams Jones CupBut when she was not considered for the selection later, she joined the Russian team with which she won a bronze medal in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
“(Tonight) she had to take a step forward to show off her work, her talent and her love of the game. We all know what she did as a player, so in her mind she went “Being able to transfer that to our league. It’s been wonderful since she arrived, it was something beautiful to hear her call for directions and plays. She’s very passionate about the game. Congratulations to her and our league,” LeBron said. .
In 2014, after his sporting retirement, Hammon joined Gregg Popovich’s coaching staff with the Spurs. Hammon had already made history in the League, when he became the first full-time assistant coach in the NBA. In 2019, the former player Tim Duncan, Was left in front of the team when Popovich similarly was sent off a game. However, Duncan decided not to return as an assistant this season, so Hammon had his chance to lead.
“It’s well deserved for her,” the Lakers coach said. Frank Vogel. “I’ve talked a lot with her at coaching conventions, she knows her stuff, here for a reason, she’s very smart, the players have loved her and I think she’ll be a coach in this league in the future, congratulations to her to be at the forefront today for the first time “.
The Spurs fell to the Lakers 121-107 with a Lebron James inspired by their 36th birthday. The two teams will face off again on Friday to open in 2021.