Becky Hammon: Gregg Popovich’s Eventual Replacement?

By Andrew Snyder | Mar 3, 2015

Nov 26, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon (R) talks to shooting guard Manu Ginobili (20) during the first half against the Indiana Pacers at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

The San Antonio Spurs took my recent objections and shoved them right back in my face this weekend with back-to-back convincing wins over the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns.

The win over Phoenix was particularly impressive. The Spurs jumped out to a 34-point lead by the end of the third quarter, before mercifully winning by a score of only 101-74. Kawhi Leonard answered my recent concerns by being a terror defensively (three blocks and two steals), while also dropping 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

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The four-game losing streak is now a distant memory, and things should be calming down around Spurs Nation.

Rather than talking about the present, let’s take another step into the future. The impending retirement of Spurs centerpieces such as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili has been discussed at length, but one member of the organization is being overlooked.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is in the midst of his 19th season coaching the Spurs, and is 66 years old. He is not going to coach forever, at some point San Antonio will have to develop a plan for when that day comes. Who should be the one to take over for him after he retires?

Keeping the current culture in place will likely be an important aspect in who they decide to hire; someone from Popovich’s vast coaching tree will likely get the nod. How about current Spurs assistant and former WNBA star Becky Hammon?

Before being hired as assistant coach Hammon, played four seasons at Colorado State University, before playing 16 seasons in the WNBA. During her career, she spent time with New York Liberty and San Antonio Stars where she averaged 13 points and 3.8 assists per game on 43.8 percent from the field, and 37.8 percent from three-point range.

She is a six-time WNBA All-Star, was selected twice for the All-WNBA first team, and twice for the All-WNBA second team. Hammon also played professionally overseas during the WNBA offseason. All this is a long way of saying Becky Hammon can play and she knows basketball.

After she retired during the summer of 2014, she was hired by the Spurs to be an assistant coach. She was not the first woman to become an NBA assistant coach, but the hiring was still seen as a historic moment.

Coach Popovich praised Hammon for her basketball knowledge at the time of her hiring, and on a previously filmed NBATV “Inside Stuff ” feature he compared her to some of the other members of his coaching tree.

“I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. “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.”

“She talks the game, she understands the game,” Popovich said. “So for all those reasons you really know she’s got that same sort of Avery Johnson, Steve Kerr, (Mike) Budenholzer type thing.”

It’s clear that the front office and coaching staff has Hammon’s back, but some may worry that 19-35 year old males would not respect a female coach telling them what to do, but if Danny Green’s comment upon her hiring is any indication, she already has the respect of the players.

“Everybody here respects her,” Green said. “She’s a really good player and also a good person to have around. She understands the game.”

The Spurs front office knows their staff better than I do, and if they think Hammon would be a suitable head coach, this is absolutely a move they should make when Popovich eventually retires.

Of course, there will be sexist Neanderthals throughout the industry that will question the ability of a woman to be a ‘’leader of men.” However, that line of thinking is outdated and no longer has a place in modern society.

People are going to say nasty things behind computer screens and maybe even publicly. That shouldn’t matter. Women can do anything that men can do, and there is no reason to exclude Hammon from consideration just because of her gender.

Becky Hammon has the basketball knowledge and teaching ability to be a head coach in the NBA. She is familiar with San Antonio’s culture, and she already has a prior relationship with their current players. If and when Popvich finally hangs up his clipboard, Hammon would be a bold and excellent choice to replace the legendary coach.

This is pure speculation and suggestion on my part, and the Spurs have said nothing to indicate that this is under consideration, but given the forward thinking of this organization, it would not surprise me.

Whether it’s Becky Hammon or not, some day a woman will become the head coach of an NBA team. Get on board or get out of the way.

Next: Is It Time to Worry About the Spurs?

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