Landon Buford
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, like other 2023 Naismith Basketball Hame Fame class members, is gearing up to take their rightful place in history this weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Before the Aces took on the Dallas Wings in Arlington, Texas, at the University of Artington on Tuesday evening, Hammon revealed that she has not even started writing her induction speech written or her outfit picked out, but it comes with the territory. She has been focused on coaching her team that is still in the middle of the regular season and looking to repeat as champions at the end of the day.
“Yeah really, I don’t even have my outfit picked out, I don’t have my speech written. I know they are going to hate to hear that, but that’s the truth, said Hammon.
“I write speeches all the time, like long ones, though; I’m going to try to keep this one between five to six minutes. There are a lot of people who got places to go. Like me, but it has been hard; I’ve I Got writer’s block because it is just a humbling thing, such a humbling moment.
The way I have postured myself to get in that place is very vulnerable, it’s hard to describe and hard to wrap into my story because I have loved basketball for a long time, but at times it didn’t love me back, or the world of basketball didn’t love me back very much.”
She added, “Then you get to the point where you get so comfortable in your skin that you don’t care what the basketball says, the basketball world, whatever, cause at the end of the day because you know what you’re about. There will be a lot of important people in the room, but I want to talk to the kids at home. I want to talk to kids all across the world. I’m someone who is 5’6; I can’t jump; I’m someone that you look at, you don’t think that much of.”
Despite not being someone that you might think of, her peers are proud of her, including future Hall of Famer Sue Bird.
Bird recently shared that Hammon had an amazing career.
“Becky had an amazing career, and it is really wonderful to see people you know well get honored that way. I’m really proud of her,” said Bird.
Becky Hammon is a trailblazing figure in the world of basketball, known for her exceptional skills as a player and her groundbreaking role as a coach. She played 16 seasons in the WNBA, earning multiple All-Star selections and leaving an indelible mark on the San Antonio Stars (now Las Vegas Aces).
After retiring as a player, Hammon became an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, becoming the first woman to hold a full-time coaching position in the NBA and making significant contributions to the team’s success. Her career inspires aspiring athletes and coaches alike, breaking barriers and reshaping perceptions in the male-dominated realm of professional basketball.
