Becky Hammon to ‘rejoin the family’ as Aces coach

The Aces made it authoritative Friday, announcing the hiring of WNBA fable Becky Hammon arsenic their coach.

Hammon, presently an adjunct manager with the San Antonio Spurs, volition decorativeness the play with the NBA squad and past instrumentality implicit successful Las Vegas earlier the 2022 season. The declaration is for 5 years and makes her the WNBA’s highest-paid coach.

“I americium truthful excited to instrumentality to the WNBA and grateful for (owner) Mark Davis and (team president) Nikki Fargas having a imaginativeness for maine to pb the Aces,” Hammon said successful a statement. “This is wherever I travel from.”

Former manager Bill Laimbeer volition stay with the enactment and assistance successful roster operation with escaped bureau opening adjacent week.

Hammon played 16 seasons successful the WNBA, including 8 with the San Antonio Stars, who relocated to Las Vegas successful 2017 and became the Aces. She earned six All-Star nods and was named to 4 All-WNBA teams, garnering 2 first-team selections.

She besides played 8 years for the New York Liberty, with whom she signed successful 1999 arsenic an undrafted escaped cause aft starring astatine Colorado State.

Hammon averaged 13.0 points, 3.8 assists and changeable 37.8 percent from 3-point scope during her career. She played her premier years with the Stars, averaging 15.6 points and 5.1 assists successful 223 games.

She is inactive the franchise’s vocation person successful assists (1,333), 3-pointers (498) and free-throw percent (92.1). She ranks 2nd successful points (3,474) and vocation scoring mean (15.6) and 4th successful 3-point percent (38.8).

The Aces retired Hammon’s No. 25 jersey Sept. 13 astatine the behest of Davis, who honored the franchise’s alumni during halftime of each location crippled past season. Davis spent clip with Hammon that week, and discussions astir the coaching presumption began astir a period ago, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the negotiations.

“This is an breathtaking time for the Aces organization,” Davis said. “From the infinitesimal I met Becky Hammon, I was hopeful that 1 time she would rejoin the family. I conscionable ne'er imagined it would hap this soon.”

Hammon, 44, inherits a roster rife with All-Star caliber players specified arsenic constituent defender Chelsea Gray, combo defender Kelsey Plum and guardant Dearica Hamby. Former No. 1 prime Jackie Young is besides nether contract, arsenic is second-year defender Destiny Slocum.

Franchise subordinate and erstwhile WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson is simply a restricted escaped agent, meaning the Aces tin lucifer immoderate connection and each but ensuring she volition beryllium successful Las Vegas adjacent season. Other cardinal players, specified arsenic All-Star halfway Liz Cambage, All-Star helping Angel McCoughtry and two-way helping Riquna Williams, are unrestricted escaped agents.

Laimbeer had coached the Aces since 2018 and was 77-45. He guided the franchise from the bottommost of the WNBA toward the top, reaching the semifinals 3 times and the WNBA Finals successful 2020.

He’s 306-215 successful 17 seasons arsenic a WNBA coach, winning titles successful 2003, 2006 and 2008 with the Detroit Shock. Only Washington Mystics manager Mike Thibault has much coaching wins (357) successful the WNBA than Laimbeer.

“This is the champion imaginable script for the Las Vegas Aces,” Laimbeer said successful a statement. “It takes a tremendous magnitude of vigor to beryllium a caput coach. In Becky, the squad present has idiosyncratic who tin service successful that relation for the agelong term.”

Hammon began her coaching vocation successful 2014, becoming the archetypal full-time pistillate adjunct successful NBA past nether Spurs fable Gregg Popovich. She coached the Spurs to an NBA Summer League title successful 2015 and became the archetypal acting pistillate caput manager successful NBA past connected Dec. 30, 2020, aft Popovich was ejected from a game.

“She’s a precise invaluable portion of the program. I’ve travel to beryllium connected her a large deal,” Popovich said. “For her, it’s a large accidental to person a caput coaching occupation astatine that level — to beryllium herself. She’s already proven herself to me, but that doesn’t substance successful the agelong run.

“She’s interviewed for a fewer jobs successful the NBA. She would person been much than qualified … but it didn’t enactment out. She’s surely capable, and I deliberation she’ll beryllium that successful Vegas. They’ve got a hellhole of a manager coming their way.”

Popovich besides touted Hammon’s coaching accomplishment set: intelligence, intuitive consciousness for the game, enactment ethic, quality to teach.

“It’s nary antithetic due to the fact that she’s a woman,” helium said. “She has to person each the aforesaid qualities the guys person coaching. And she has them.”

Hammon returned the compliment.

“I’m particularly thankful to Pop, who lone cared astir my potential, not my gender,” Hammon said. “He saw thing peculiar successful maine and was consenting to put the clip and vigor to assistance thatch and make a young coach.”

Contact newsman Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected Twitter.