Becky Hammon has spent 8 years as an assistant coach for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.- Last week, the 6-time
WNBA All-Star was hired as head coach and GM of the WNBA'sLas Vegas Aces .
Becky Hammon is ready to coach her own professional
And she's ready to win, too.
The longtime NBA assistant coach under San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg Popovich earned a record-breaking deal to become the head coach and general manager of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces ahead of the 2022 season. And in her introductory press conference, Hammon made it clear that she and her team will be ready for success right from the jump — no adjustment period required.
"I know that the Aces are close," Hammon said. "I do feel like implementing my offensive system and defensive system is something that I'm really looking forward to, and I think that a championship is well within reach."
"That opportunity in itself to walk into a situation with a winning team and the caliber of players that I'll be inheriting from [former Las Vegas head coach] Bill Laimbeer and the foundation that he laid, I'm super fortunate and super blessed and obviously very excited," she added.
Should the chips fall in the Aces' direction, Hammon will indeed inherit a stacked roster for her debut season as a head coach. Las Vegas advanced to at least the semifinals in the past three
She'll start by working to retain the Aces' most lethal weapons. A'ja Wilson — the 2020 WNBA MVP who has rapidly become one of the league's top stars — is a restricted free agent, and other teams could pursue the 6-foot-4 guard. However, Las Vegas would have the opportunity to match any contract another franchise offered.
Superstar center Liz Cambage — who has been with the Aces since 2019 — is an unrestricted free agent. But the Aces still have their core designation, which they could use to block the 6-foot-8 Australian from leaving Sin City in exchange for a supermax contract.
Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Dearica Hamby — league stars in their own right — are guaranteed to return to Las Vegas for the 2022 season. But 2021 starter Riquna Williams, role player Kiah Stokes, and five-time WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry all remain question marks heading into free agency.
"They have some really good pieces in place," Hammon said. "And what it's about is finding the chemistry with those players, building that foundation out, but then also adding a few pieces that fit the style that I wanna play and that I see moving this team in that direction."
"I can tell you the type of player that I really want is a competitive one," she added. "I will take a little bit less talent — I would love to have talent and super competitive — but I want really competitive players that want to be there and want to work hard and buy in right from the start."
Hammon is expected to transition to her new role with the Aces full-time in April. But until then, she'll be "pulling double duty" as she rounds out her tenure with the Spurs and ramps up her duties in Las Vegas.