Las Vegas Aces Announce Becky Hammon Is New Head Coach
By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
Becky Hammon’s No. 25 player jersey hangs in the rafters of the Las Vegas Aces’ home court.
Now Hammon, 44, will also be back with the Las Vegas/former San Antonio franchise as the Aces’ new head coach, replacing Bill Laimbeer.
The Aces Friday announced that Hammon was the new coach. It’s believed it’s a five-year contract.
Aces President Nikki Fargas: “Her success in the sport of basketball as both a player and a coach is unparalleled, and fueled by a tenacious desire to be the best she can possibly be. We have one of the most talented rosters in the WNBA, and Becky is the absolute best person to lead this team.”
Hammon: “This is where I come from, and I wouldn’t be me without the W. I’m thrilled to be able to give back and lead this next group of women.”
Hammon is a 16-year veteran of the WNBA, splitting her time with the New York Liberty and the San Antonio Stars, winning All-Star honors six times and retiring from the W in 2014.
Then Hammon drew national attention as an assistant coach with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, which hired the Colorado State product on Aug. 5, 2014, San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich hired Hammon as a full-time assistant making her the first woman in league history to occupy that position.
Since that time, Hammon has continued to accumulate coaching ‘firsts’ in the NBA. On July 3, 2015, she became the first woman to serve as head coach in the NBA’s Summer League where she led the Spurs to the league title.
Less than a year later, Hammon became the first woman to be part of an All-Star coaching staff, and on December 30, 2020, following Popovich’s ejection in San Antonio’s game against Los Angeles, Hammon took over on the bench, becoming the first woman acting head coach in the history of the NBA.
“Becky has become an integral part of our program in every way, shape and form,” said Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich. “This is a great opportunity for her to highlight her many skills. Her intuitive feel for the game and ability to teach will serve the Aces very well as she institutes her system and culture.”
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Talk of Hammon joining the Aces is intriguing because technically it’s not like there’s a job opening for a Las Vegas head coach, while other teams in the WNBA do have head coach openings.
MGM Resorts bought the former San Antonio franchise in 2017 and re-branded the team into the Aces playing at the arena at Mandalay Bay. Then, Raiders owner Mark Davis bought the Aces about a year ago.
“This is an exciting day for the Aces organization,” Davis said. “From the moment I met Becky Hammon, I was hopeful that one day she would rejoin the family. I just never imagined it would happen this soon.”
MGM Resorts hired Laimbeer to run the Aces’ basketball operations for the team’s inaugural season in Las Vegas and had coached and guided the franchise since 2017.
The Aces reached the WNBA Finals for the first time in the COVID-19 pandemic bubble in Florida in 2020 and lost to Phoenix in the league semifinals i 2021. Laimbeer’s four-season record with Las Vegas is 122-45.
Hammon was most recently seen with the team in September when the Aces and Davis hoisted her jersey to the rafters of Michelob Ultra Arena. The San Antonio Stars had retired her No. 25 in June 2016.
Davis implemented an Aces/Stars alumni program similar to alumni program of the Raiders. He noted the importance of connecting the Aces to both San Antonio and Utah, where the franchise started originally as the Starzz when the WNBA launched in 1997.
During her media call that week, Hammon acknowledged the alumni effort.
“There’s people that can say the right things, and then people who do the right things. I’m super excited [the Aces] want to establish a history and a culture and a winning identity,” Hammon said. “They’re willing to put their money where their mouth is. It’s important as the league grows that we do remember the people that came before.”
Hammon has bigtime cred in the WNBA. She was included in the WNBA’s Top 25 players.
After she interviewed for at least two head coaching vacancies in the NBA, many have speculated Hammon would take over for Spurs longtime veteran head coach Gregg Popovich when he retired from the Spurs. In December 2020, Hammon became the first woman to serve as NBA head coach in a regular season game after Pop was ejected in a game between the Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers.
The South Dakota native averaged 13 points and 3.8 assists throughout her WNBA career.
