For the first time in the history of the National Basketball Association, a woman acted as head coach of a team during a regular-season game.
Becky Hammon, assistant coach of the San Antonio Spurs, was thrust into the top position following the ejection of head coach Gregg Popovich in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game between the Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Obviously, it’s a big deal,” Hammon told reporters following the game. “It’s a substantial moment. I’ve been a part of this organization, I got traded here in 2007, so I’ve been in San Antonio and part of the Spurs and sports organization with the stars and everything for 13 years. So I have a lot of time invested. And they have a lot of time invested in me, in building me and getting me better.”
Spurs assistant Becky Hammon filled in for an ejected Gregg Popovich.
She’s believed to be the first woman to act as head coach during an NBA regular-season game. pic.twitter.com/VyQqVNaPhc
— ESPN (@espn) December 31, 2020
Popovich, who is one of the most politically outspoken coaches in the league and who has pushed for women to join the coaching ranks of the league, turned to the bench following his ejection and told Hammon the team was hers.
“He officially pointed at me. That was it. … That was it,” Hammon said. “Said, ‘You got ’em,’ and that was it. Very Pop-like.”
Hammon, a six-time all-star during her career with the Women’s National Basketball League, has long been seen as a likely replacement for the aging Popovich. Spurs guard Demar DeRozan said Hammon is “one of us.”
“Becky played, and any player who knows the history of women’s basketball knows what she meant to the sport,” DeRozan said. “You don’t think twice about it. She’s one of us. When she speaks, we are all ears.”
The Spurs lost the game 121-107.
