Latest news with #Hammon
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Becky Hammon Makes Career Move/Decision Before New WNBA Season
With the WNBA season tipping off this weekend, and some games starting as early as Friday night, the excitement is building fast among fans, players and teams. From standout training camp performances to coaching changes and roster movement, the league has made plenty of headlines throughout the preseason. Among the latest buzz is a move involving a team that won't take the court until Saturday afternoon but is already making waves off it. Advertisement That team is the Las Vegas Aces, and the noise centers around one of the most respected and successful coaches in WNBA history. Klutch Sports Group, the high-profile agency known for representing elite athletes across multiple sports, has announced a major signing in the women's basketball world. "Welcome @BeckyHammon!" Klutch Sports Group posted on X. Hammon, head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, is a former WNBA star and six-time All-Star. She led the league in assists in 2007 and was known for her gritty play and leadership on the floor. As a coach, Hammon has continued to shine. She guided the Aces to back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. The team also won the Commissioner's Cup in 2022, and Hammon was named WNBA Coach of the Year. Advertisement Before taking over in Las Vegas, Hammon served as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs from 2014 to 2021. In August 2023, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon© Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Her new partnership with Klutch Sports is expected to help her expand her brand and pursue more opportunities in entertainment, media and business. Klutch represents a wide array of talent, including NBA stars like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Draymond Green and Aaron Gordon. On the NFL side, clients include DeAndre Hopkins, Bijan Robinson and DeVonta Smith. JuJu Watkins was one of the first college women's basketball players to join Klutch. The agency recently began representing coaches and executives, signing names like Chauncey Billups and Nick Nurse. Hammon is the first WNBA coach to sign with Klutch. Current WNBA stars A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Aliyah Boston are also represented by Rich Paul and Klutch Sports. Advertisement Related: Caitlin Clark's Pass to Fever Teammate During Practice Leaves Fans in Disbelief Related: WNBA Team Releases Unexpected Player Days Before New Season
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
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: — 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.
The Herald Scotland
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Gregg Popovich is a real patriot, and his voice will be missed
Popovich knew he was probably rubbing some San Antonio Spurs fans the wrong way by weighing in when he thought it necessary. Probably gave the front office heart burn, too. But he did it, anyway, recognizing that democracy is a verb, something too many in this country don't seem to get. It's easy to thump your chest and claim to be patriotic, and much harder to actually do the work required for a free and just society. A graduate of the Air Force Academy, Popovich's service took him to what was then the Soviet Union. He saw firsthand what happens to a country when it's ruled by craven men who care more about enriching themselves than the people they lead, how quickly freedom can be hollowed out when citizens don't have a right to self-determination, and he wanted no part of that. For Popovich, love of country meant holding it to account. Challenging America to live up to the freedoms and ideals promised to us, and demanding answers and action when we fall short. "Being a patriot is somebody that respects their country and understands that the best thing about our country is that we have the ability to fix things that have not come to fruition for a lot of people so far," Popovich said in 2019, when he defended Colin Kaepernick's protests against police brutality of Black and brown people. "All the promises in the beginning when the country was established is fantastic, but those goals have not been reached yet for a lot of people," Popovich said. "... Being a critic of those inequalities does not make you a non-patriot. It's what makes America great, that you can say those things and attack those things to make them better. That's what a lot of other countries don't have. You lose your freedom when you do that." Read more about Popovich's legacy: Popovich's impact on the Spurs and NBA was immense. Six ways he left his footprint. Gregg Popovich best quotes: 'I want some nasty,' Spurs coach sideline interviews and Trump More news: Spurs name Mitch Johnson as head coach Popovich is notoriously gruff, and holding court with the media held about as much appeal for him as a root canal. But with his background -- he grew up in East Chicago, Indiana, a rust-belt town still reeling from the shuttering of steel mills and the job losses that followed -- and status as a five-time NBA champion coach, he knew he had a chance to reach people who might tune out his plain, hard truths if they heard them from someone else. Popovich did more than just talk, though. When he hired Becky Hammon in 2014, she became the first full-time female assistant coach in any of the major men's sports. Though Popovich had long been a proponent of equality, he didn't hire Hammon for show. Popovich had gotten to know Hammon when she was playing with the San Antonio Stars, and believed she was the best person for the opening he had on his staff. (She's more than proven him right, winning two titles with the Las Vegas Aces.) "I don't even look at it as, well, she's the first female this and that and the other," Popovich said in 2015. "She's a coach, and she's good at it." But representation matters, and Pop's hiring of Hammon paved the way for other women to get jobs on NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB staffs. "A person had to come along that didn't care about gender. They care about how you do your job," Hammon once said of Popovich. Popovich was the ultimate coach. Whether it was his players or his country, he was always pushing for more, knowing there was room for improvement and refusing to settle for less. Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
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. Advertisement 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. "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 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 was linked to the Portland Trail Blazers vacancy in 2021 before being hired by the Aces. Advertisement 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.
USA Today
03-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Becky Hammon praises mentor Gregg Popovich after he steps down, says she's 'happy' in WNBA
Becky Hammon praises mentor Gregg Popovich after he steps down, says she's 'happy' in WNBA Show Caption Hide Caption Gregg Popovich resigns as Spurs head coach After suffering a stroke months ago, Gregg Popovich steps down as Spurs head coach. Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon says her "heart's a little heavy" for Gregg Popovich, who officially stepped down as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs after 29 seasons. 'My heart's a little heavy for him because I know how much he loves it,' Hammon said on Friday ahead of the Aces' preseason matchup against the Dallas Wings. She said Popovich, who will transition into the role of the Spurs' president of basketball operations, is "one of the greatest to do it. Arguably, the greatest to do it.' Hammon said she texted Popovich following the news, telling her 76-year-old mentor that she's "thinking about him and love(s) him" because she's sure it was "a heavy, heavy decision for him" to step away. Hammon said she has no doubt that Popovich will "crush this new role just as much." "I know he'll still be running around that facility and be heavily involved with the everyday decisions. He will always be the most competitive person in the building, whatever building he's in," Hammon said. "That part doesn't change just because you get a little bit older." GREGG POPOVICH STEPS DOWN: Six ways he left his footprint on the Spurs and NBA MORE: Gregg Popovich best quotes, from 'I want some nasty,' to Spurs coach sideline interviews and Trump Hammon got her start in coaching after Popovich hired her as an assistant coach in August 2014, making her only the second female coach in NBA history. Hammon coached the Spurs to a Summer League title in 2015, the first woman to do so. When Popovich was ejected in the second quarter of the Spurs' loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 30, 2020, Hammon became the first female acting head coach in league history. Hammon interviewed for the Milwaukee Bucks' general manager position in 2017 and the Portland Trail Blazers' head coaching vacancy in 2021, before accepting the Las Vegas Aces' head coaching job in December 2021. 'He's a huge reason why I got this job,' said Hammon, who won back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023 and is 87-29 in three seasons as the head coach of the Aces. "That's who mentored me. That's who spent literally thousands of hours with me." Hammon said Popovich's leadership always stood out to her during the eight years she spent on his staff. "I think what was always so amazing about Pop was how he led," she said. "People have different leadership styles, but I thought he got the absolute most out of his roster. Whatever his roster looked like. Turns out, he had some really good players." After news of Popovich stepping down hit the airwaves, many sports reporters endorsed Hammon as his successor and recommended she be named the Spurs' next head coach to continue his legacy. The job is going to Mitch Johnson, who has served as the interim head coach since Popovich suffered a mild stroke on Nov. 2. Hammon said she's "super happy where I'm at." "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," Hammon said. "If I were to ever make that jump again, it would just have to be the right fit, right time and for the right people with the right team." The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
