Becky Hammon is no stranger to hard work. From playing in the WNBA herself to becoming the NBA’s first full-time female assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, she now begins her legacy as the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces starting in 2022.
In July, Hammon was asked by WSLAM about his career and his plans to lead the Las Vegas Aces into a new era. When Hammon played in the WNBA, she made six All-Star appearances and four All-WNBA teams. Then, in 2021, Becky was selected for The W25, a collection of the 25 most influential and greatest players in WNBA history.
“Honestly, I didn’t set out to do this,” Hammon told WSLAM about his barrier-breaking experience in the NBA. “You show up, work, keep working, and try to do the job to the best of your ability. And everything else takes care of itself.”
After a tumultuous 2021-2022 NBA offseason that saw many vacant head coaching positions filled by candidates other than Hammon, Las Vegas jumped the gun and got an ace of its own. In Hammon’s first year with the team, she not only won the title and Coach of the Year honors, but her team earned a #1 overall record. She was the head coach of the 2022 All-Star team that also won the Commissioner’s Cup Championship.
Since taking the reigns in Las Vegas, Hammon has not only diversified Las Vegas’ offensive and defensive schemes, but most importantly, she has helped her team learn to believe in themselves.
“When I use the word ‘encouragement,’ which actually means giving encouragement to someone else, I try to say that to them every day,” Hammon said. Per Ballysports. “I had so much faith in them and how much I believed that if we all worked together, we could be special.”
Becky also said she believes the first step to a winning culture is accountability.
“The first step in building a championship culture is to create an atmosphere of accountability. You have to bring people together for a common goal bigger than themselves and then get that buy-in factor. My agreement factor with each of these women was high and I think they responded well to me. I try to explain very clearly what their job is and what the expectations are,” Hammon said. “That puts everyone on the same page in the sense that no one is shooting two or three people. If we play the right way, everyone wins, and when we win, everything else takes care of itself.”
It’s safe to say that Hammon’s first season as the Aces’ head coach was a success after leading the Aces to their first-ever title and helping A’ja Wilson win his second MVP and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Kelsey Plum is the All-Star Game MVP and Jackie Young is the Most Improved Player of 2022.
