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A head coach in the NBA

2021-01-03T23:13:36.119Z


Pau Gasol, LeBron James and Steve Kerr surrender to the talent of Becky Hammon, who marks another milestone in equality in the sport by leading her first official game with the Spurs


Becky Hammon, during an action of the game between the Lakers and the Spurs.Ronald Cortes / AFP

"You may be the first, but I know you certainly will not be the last," wrote Kamala Harris in her penultimate tweet of 2020. The vice president-elect of the United States linked it to information about Becky Hammon, the first woman to lead a party in NBA history.

Hammon herself, the players and coaches, accustomed to the routine of the games in which she acts as assistant to the San Antonio Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich, took a while to perceive the magnitude of what happened in that duel between the Spurs and the Los Angeles. Lakers.

“It is a great milestone for the League, for Becky and for the women.

No one could have imagined this five years ago, ”emphasized Golden State coach Steve Kerr.

“I didn't even realize what was happening.

It was just Becky playing Becky.

Is that what you want.

That's the best part of it.

She is a coach ... a strategist.

We don't think of gender when we think of Becky, ”said Rudy Gay, the 34-year-old Spurs player with the most experience.

“The NBA is gender blind, color blind.

I am proud to be part of it.

If you know the game, you know the game, ”added Michael Malone, the Denver Nuggets coach.

Congrats, @BeckyHammon.

You may be the first, but I know you certainly won't be the last.

https://t.co/dHXa9JFRWT

- Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 31, 2020

The NBA, a League with a huge global media impact, has been involved in the fight for civil rights and social demands, especially in a year marked by the Black Lives Matter movement (Black lives matter).

It also promotes gender equality.

She bet on a professional women's league in 1997, with the creation of the WNBA.

Two years later, Hammon, a 5-foot point guard from Rapid City, South Dakota, began his career in that league with the New York Liberty.

From 2001 he combined the WNBA with other Leagues in Europe.

He played in Italy, in Russia and in two Spanish teams, Rivas Ecópolis and Ros Casares.

Starting in 2007, he did it with the San Antonio Stars.

A ligament injury in July 2013 forced her to a long period of convalescence.

During that stage he attended many training sessions and games for the Spurs.

Popovich invited her to express her views and in August 2014 she became the first woman to be on a technical team in the NBA.

In 2015, she was the first head coach in the summer league.

In 2018, the Milwaukee Bucks interviewed her in the selection process for their first coach;

later, also Indiana.

“I've been in the NBA for 17 years, I have won two championships, I have played with the best players of this generation and I have played under two of the brightest minds in the sport, Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich.

And I tell you that Becky Hammon can train in the NBA, ”Pau Gasol wrote at the time.

The Spanish pivot coincided with Hammon during his time with the Spurs, from July 2016 to March 2019, and defended - avoiding condescension, he said -, the value and professionalism of the coach in an article in

The Players Tribune

in May 2018. Several coaches followed the path started by Hammon and last season 11 of them worked in the technical teams of NBA teams.

In March 2020, in Charlotte, Hammon came close to directing his first official NBA game, replacing Popovich, who was absent for personal reasons.

But the chosen one was Tim Duncan who, after his brilliant playing career ended in 2019, also became an assistant at Spurs.

Two months ago he left the team.

Hammon's alternative came on December 31, at 43, in the game between the Spurs and the Lakers.

Referees sent Popovich off in the second quarter for protesting.

“He said, 'You have them,' and that was it.

That's Pop, ”she explained.

“Everyone has collaborated.

We have been a team.

The boys have responded very well.

It has been like always, they are used to hearing my voice during training, "he added.

LeBron James, Spurs' rival in that game that the Lakers won (107-121), greeted the good news: “You've tried hard and when you try, you are rewarded with opportunities.

He has shown his work, his talent and his love for the game.

She has been able to transfer all her knowledge as a coach.

It is beautiful to hear her scream giving instructions.

She is very passionate.

Congratulations to her and the League ”.

Russian nationalized

Hammon's career as a player was marked by her decision to obtain dual nationality to play the 2008 Olympic Games with the Russian team, with which she obtained the bronze medal.

There were those who reproached him for his lack of patriotism.

He responded with a statement that left no room for the slightest doubt about his love for his country.

The Spurs coach continues a woman's long and tortuous struggle to break down gender barriers in sports. In 1967, Katherine Switzer broke into the Boston Marathon and completed it to claim a female presence in a race reserved only for men. Billie Jean King, after beating Bobby Riggs in the famous battle of the sexes match, in 1973 got the tennis players to receive a prize in money equal to that of the men at the US Open. Algerian Hassiba Boulmerka, persecuted for running In shorts and suspenders and a fighter for the rights of women and Arab athletes, she won the gold medal in Barcelona 92 ​​and the Prince of Asturias Award in 1995. In 2013, Danica Patrick was the first woman to win an event in the IndyCar. In 2019, the Augusta Masters hosted a women's tournament for the first time. And 2020 has been a year with several milestones. Sarah Fuller was the first woman to appear in a NCAA college football Power 5 conference game, kicking the second half kickoff between Vanderbilt and Missouri; and Stéphanie Frappart, the first referee to lead in the Champions League.



Source: elparis

All sports articles on 2021-01-03

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