Becky Hammon says she won’t beg for a chance to coach in the NBA as she’s soon to become a Hall of Famer

Former WNBA star and coach Becky Hammon is expected to walk across the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s stage to become a part of the Class of 2023, and she assures that she’s not begging for the job of becoming the first woman to coach in the NBA.

“You’re going to have to come after me,” she told the press back in May. “I’m not going to beg for a job anymore.”

The thing is, she doesn’t need to ask for work, she’s more than capable of confronting any challenge. After a succesful 16-year career as a professional athlete, Hammon already has strong credentials as a trainer. She’s not only the first female assistant coach in the league, she led an NBA franchise to conquer a Summer League competition.

On the court or on the sideline, there's no denying Becky Hammon's impact on basketball 👏

The #23HoopClass inductee sat down with @mikecwright to discuss her upcoming enshrinement, Saturday, August 12 at 8pm/et on NBA TV!

📰: https://t.co/qc5ZSLe6Dq pic.twitter.com/pe0XsH7okL

— NBA (@NBA) August 8, 2023

“Besides the obvious that everybody’s heard and seen, she’s just a coach,” Spurs Gregg Popovich said. “It’s not gender specific. It’s none of that. She knows her stuff. She did it as a player, and it was very easy to see when she came over to the coaching side that she knew her stuff. Either you do or you don’t. Players can recognize that quickly, and of course, other coaches can.”

Even though she always had clear basketball knowledge, it wasn’t easy for her to get a chance to start coaching in the WNBA.

“I was somebody that most people could relate to … and inspire hope that, ‘Hey man, if she can do it, maybe I can do it too,’” Hammon said. “Really, that was how my basketball career was. It’s also maybe the same in this coaching thing, too. ‘Hey, if she can do it, [I can, too].’”

Both NBA coaches and players have openly talked about how her success is everything but a surprise

Probably the first to ever see her coaching potential was longtime WNBA trainer Damn Hughes, who first encountered Hammon competing against him, trying many strategies to try and slow down her fierceness on the basketball court.

“You knew she was going to have to fulfill a lot of expectations with that kind of trade,” he expressed. “As I watched her and got to know her, it was like every stage of that first year reinforced why that was suco a good decision. She never disappointed.”

Back when a 19-year-old Dejounte Murray was drafted by San Antonio in 2016, he encountered a lot of support from Hammon’s coaching skills, helping him his transition into the NBA through her own experience as a professional player.

“That was somebody that put their arms around me and wanted to be there for me,” said the current Hawks player. “She’s been through a lot. She saw and knew that I had been through a lot. So, we were able to build our relationship off always being counted out. We still talk to this day. I even go to Aces games. I’m so proud of her. Great person, great basketball player and a great coach. But I’m not surprised by anything she’s doing.”