Hammon's time to lead is coming

The NBA isn't quite ready for Becky Hammon.

That is the league's problem, not Hammon's.

It's sad that it will be huge news when -- not if -- Hammon gets one of the NBA's 30 head coaching jobs. She has proven she is qualified. But it still will be a historic hire. She will be the first woman to hold such a position.

Not that bursting through that barrier and making history is what drives Hammon, who was a finalist for the Portland Trail Blazers job in June and interviewed with the Orlando Magic this spring, the Indiana Pacers in 2020 and the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018.

Wouldn't it have been appropriate if Hammon had gotten the Trail Blazers' job, which went to Chauncey Billups?

"Please don't hire me to check a box," she told The Associated Press earlier this month. "That's the worst thing you can do for me. Hire me because of my skill sets and coaching, who I am as a person, hire me for those."

The late, great Pat Summitt could have been the first woman to coach an NBA team. She was more than qualified, her knowledge of basketball second to none and her ability to demand discipline from her players impressive. Summitt turned down the chance to coach the University of Tennessee men's team on more than one occasion, choosing to stick with the women's team. She won eight NCAA championships and made it to 18 Final Fours during her fabulous run from 1974-2012.

It's easy to think the Tennessee men would have been better off with Summitt than with any of the nine male coaches they had during her time in Knoxville.

Hammon is just as ready to be an NBA head coach. She has worked on five-time NBA champion Gregg Popovich's staff with the San Antonio Spurs since 2014. She coached the Spurs to the NBA Summer League championship in 2015. She has been Popovich's top assistant since 2018. She ran the Spurs' bench during a game in December after Popovich was thrown out and received rave reviews afterward.

"Becky has definitely been instrumental for us every time we step out there on court, even in timeouts with Pop as the head coach," forward DeMar DeRozan said that night. "She's quick on her feet, understanding defensive coverages, where we should be offensively, what we should run, different mismatches. Her words on the side are always instrumental."

You think that was a nice endorsement of Hammon?

You haven't read anything yet.

"I've played under two of the sharpest minds in the history of sports in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich," former NBA star Pau Gasol wrote in a letter supporting Hammon. "I'm telling you Becky Hammon can coach. I'm not saying she can coach pretty well. I'm not saying she can coach enough to get by. I'm not saying she can coach almost at the level of the NBA's male coaches. I'm saying Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball. Period."

Popovich long has pushed for Hammon: "She knows her stuff. She's confident. She's got opinions and solid notions about basketball. Obviously, she was a great player. As a point guard, she's a leader. She's fiery. She's got intelligence. Our guys just respected the heck out of her."

That last line is significant, the most important thing Popovich said about Hammon. No coach -- male or female -- can be successful without the respect of the players, no matter how well he or she knows the Xs and Os.

Hammon, 44, has earned it, not just with her work with the Spurs, but with her 16-year career in the WNBA with the New York Liberty and the San Antonio Stars. She was a six-time WNBA All-Star, twice making first team. She also was a three-time All-American at Colorado State.

Hammon's time is coming.

That barrier will come crashing down, sooner rather than later.

"People don't like doing something new and different," Hammon told NBC Sports in April. "It's uncomfortable. It takes massive amount of risk. Somebody's going to have to take a chance. ... In some ways, I feel like it could be in a year. In other ways, it could be 10 years. I'm not really sure.

"What I'm sure of is, I'll be ready."

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