Becky Hammon on mentor Gregg Popovich stepping down as Spurs head coach: 'My heart's a little heavy for him'
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon praised Gregg Popovich after he stepped down from coaching the San Antonio Spurs to become their full-time president.
Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November that kept him from calling plays for the team the rest of the season, and he retires from coaching after 29 years on the job. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson, who served as interim head coach for the rest of the season, will take over permanently.
Before the Aces' preseason matchup against the Dallas Wings on Friday night, Hammon applauded Popovich, who took her under his wing in the years leading up to her tenure in Las Vegas.
Asked #LVAces coach Becky Hammon on her thoughts about so many sports talk hosts commenting today that she "would have been a lock" to coach the Spurs after Gregg Popovich had she still been in San Antonio. Her reply: pic.twitter.com/xu61PkmFsY
— WillieGRamireZ (@WillieGRamirez) May 2, 2025
"That's who mentored me, that's who spent literally thousands of hours with me," Hammon said. "Watching him, I was there eight years. It's a lot of games, it's a lot of practices, it's a lot of coaches' meetings. So yeah, my heart's a little heavy for him because I know how much he loves it, but I'm sure he'll crush this role just as much."
Hammon was part of Popovich's coaching staff from 2014 to 2021 and was the first woman to lead an NBA team after Popovich was ejected in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. The former New York Liberty guard was also the first woman to serve as a head coach in the NBA Summer League and interviewed for the Portland Trail Blazers' head coaching vacancy in 2021 before being hired by the Aces.
She became the first WNBA coach to win a championship as a rookie and secured another title in 2022. Despite her ties to the Spurs and fans calling for her to replace Popovich, the 48-year-old insisted she is happy with her role in Las Vegas.
"I'm super happy where I am," Hammon said. "This opportunity for me, I couldn't pass on it. I bet on myself instead of, maybe waiting it out for a maybe [in the NBA]. I've enjoyed being back on the women's side. You guys know I'm effusive about my love for this team and being back in the women's game."
"If I were to ever make that jump again, you know it just has to be the right fit, right time, in front of the right people, with the right team," she added.
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He still doesn't have a reliable jumper. And for a guard who lives off speed, any athletic slippage could get ugly, fast. And even if he ages gracefully and ends up being by far the most expensive of three quality shot-creators, he won't come close to having the trade value he holds right now. San Antonio has one last window to sell high. Advertisement Harper, on the other hand, is 19 with real long-term upside. Castle is younger, cheaper, and easier to fit in because he's a far better cutter and defender than Fox. It's not as if Fox and Wemby made a great first impression. Granted they ran only 46 pick-and-rolls together, they scored a measly 0.77 points per play. A full training camp might help, but maybe not if the team's shooting situation doesn't improve. Plus Castle and Harper also need touches. Fox/Wemby simply might not be the high-usage combo they envisioned. If moving Fox were on the table, the logical targets are the teams that were connected to him at the deadline: Miami Heat: Fox for Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith, Nikola Jović, the No. 20 pick, and unprotected firsts in 2030 and 2032. Fox upgrades Miami's point guard spot, while San Antonio gets picks and three shooters including a young piece in Jović. Brooklyn Nets: Fox for Cam Johnson and draft capital. Johnson spaces the floor and fits the timeline. Houston Rockets: Fox (plus Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley) for Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, the 10th pick, and future firsts. FVV gives the Spurs a vet, while Smith would be a fascinating fit next to Wemby. Other playmaking-needy teams like the Bulls, Magic, Suns, and Timberwolves could emerge as dark horses. Phoenix is especially interesting: if the Spurs really want Durant, Fox's salary helps make the math work. Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, or Devin Vassell could be added to build a separate bigger deal. Advertisement But there's real risk here. Fox is a known commodity as an All-Star in his prime, capable of carrying an offense, capable of making Wemby's life easier today. Harper is unproven. If his jumper never levels up or his fit with Castle overlaps too much, San Antonio may have traded a sure thing for a question mark. You don't get many chances to pair a young superstar with a reliable point guard who actually wants to be there. If Harper doesn't hit, they'll spend the next five years trying to replace what they already had. When San Antonio traded for Fox, they were trying to make the playoffs. Instead, both Fox and Wemby got hurt. The team cratered. And the lottery gave them an unexpected gift. Don't waste the alien If the Spurs keep loading up on guards with questionable jumpers, they're doing it around a star who should be the gravitational center of the entire offense. Instead, they're building a roster that pulls him to the perimeter while everyone else clogs the lane. 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Tim Duncan's prime was maximized because San Antonio built with precision. Shooting. Defense. Clarity. Manu Ginobili didn't need the ball to impact the game. Tony Parker could bend defenses without dominating possessions. Everyone fit around Duncan, and San Antonio always evolved with the times as the NBA changed. And because of that, it lasted two decades. Wembanyama deserves that kind of infrastructure. And right now, it feels like the Spurs are building a roster better suited for 2005. But the blueprint has never been clearer: surround your generational star with players who space the floor, make quick decisions, and elevate him without always needing the ball to do it. Do that, and Wembanyama changes the sport. Don't, and years from now we'll talk about how the Spurs landed an alien and built a roster that made him look human.
