On Wednesday, Becky Hammon made history by becoming the first woman to direct an NBA team after the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected against the Los Angeles Lakers. Popovich was dismissed by official Tony Brown with four minutes left in the second quarter of the Spurs’ eventual 101-121 defeat against the Lakers. This led to Hammon, assistant coach for the Spurs to take charge of the reins for the remainder of the game.
While speaking to reporters after the game, Hammon admitted that she did not walk into the AT&T Center thinking she would be coaching the team but said, “You’ve just got to roll with it.” In fact, Hammon became the first woman in any of the four major US leagues (MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA) to coach a men’s team. As expected, netizens were then curious to know more about Becky Hammon with several NBA fans praising the 43-year-old for her historical feat.
On Wednesday, Gregg Popovich indirectly laid out the foundation for Becky Hammon to write her name in American sports history. The 71-year-old got ejected for arguing with the officials over an alleged non-call during the Spurs’ game against the Lakers. However, while leaving the sidelines, he pointed at Hammon and said, “You got ’em.”