On July 11, Becky Hammon became the first woman to lead a summer league NBA team. Less than two weeks later, she was the recipient of a Gatorade shower in the San Antonio Spurs’ locker room.
Hammon coached the Spurs to a 6-1 record throughout the stretch, culminating in a 93-90 win over the Phoenix Suns in the Las Vegas Summer League Championship Monday.
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"It was a grind," Hammon said to the Associated Press. "They've been together for 17 days. They really started to jell the last two or three games. They listened, and they played really hard for me. I just really appreciate their attentiveness and alertness. They were tired, but they fought through."
This marks the first Vegas Summer League title for the Spurs organization.
Coach @BeckyHammon leads the @Spurs to @NBASummerLeague title! https://t.co/JuU7v81M8I— NBA (@NBA) July 21, 2015
Thanks to 23 points from Jonathon Simmons, the group outmuscled the Suns to win a tournament full of prospects and NBA hopefuls.
"I really love her,” Simmons told NBA TV. "I've only known her a couple days. She's a real cool coach. She's a player coach. That's something we all like.”
A strong endorsement -- not that Hammon’s coaching needed any validation.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has continually said that Hammon was hired in 2014 as an assistant because of her capability, not because the franchise wanted to break a barrier.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman,” Popovich told the New York Post in March. “It’s the same position, it’s the same pick-and-roll, it’s the same defenses and all that sort of thing. It’s been good to have her. It’s another perspective that we didn’t have before.”
Hammon became the first female full-time assistant in the NBA last August. But her hiring didn't draw widespread attention until this July, when she coached the Spurs summer league team for the first time.
Now Hammon is in the spotlight, and praise is coming from every direction.
Congratulations @BeckyHammon and @spurs, @NBASummerLeague Champions! pic.twitter.com/zUlLeQ0UFg— WNBA (@WNBA) July 21, 2015
I know this is a bold statement. If I was running a team and had a head coaching opening. The first call would be to Becky Hammon.— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 21, 2015
Hammon is as qualified as any current assistant coach in the NBA. She is paying her dues and working from the bottom up.— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 21, 2015
Congrats to @BeckyHammon and the young spurs on the summer league chip!— Danny Green (@DGreen_14) July 21, 2015
#SummerSpurs pic.twitter.com/mgyPgaWza5— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) July 21, 2015