NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Adam Silver has “no doubt” the NBA could see a day when Becky Hammon or another woman is a head coach.
The commissioner said Wednesday he had texted and emailed with Hammon while they were in Las Vegas, where she coached the Spurs to the Summer League championship Monday night. He praised the San Antonio organization for hiring her last season as the first full-time female assistant in the NBA and putting her in charge of its entry in the Vegas league.
“No different than for me in coming up in my career, unless you’re given those opportunities, you’re never going to show your ability to be successful,” Silver said. “So I’m enormously proud of her and I’m enormously proud of the players who’ve quickly seen that she’s a top-notch coach and have been willing to follow her.”
Hammon is a former WNBA star who had been hired by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich last summer before ending her playing career in San Antonio. After assisting him on a variety of coaching responsibilities during the season, Hammon ran the team in the NBA’s top summer league.
The Spurs lost their first game, then won the rest before beating Phoenix on Monday for the title. Silver had already returned from Las Vegas but watched the game on NBA TV.