SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, a former San Antonio Spurs assistant under Gregg Popovich, said she’s happy with her current role while not ruling out a future move back to the NBA.
The Spurs announced Friday that Popovich will no longer be head coach and is transitioning into the full-time role as the team’s president of basketball operations. Mitch Johnson, who served as acting head coach after Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November, takes over at the Spurs’ helm.
Hammon, who coached the Aces in their first preseason game Friday night against Dallas at Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion, was an assistant under Popovich from 2014 to 2021 and became the first woman to serve as an acting head coach in the NBA after Popovich was ejected from a 2020 game.
Despite her previous ties to the Spurs organization, Hammon is quite content in the WNBA.
“I’m super happy where I am,” Hammon said. “This opportunity for me, I couldn’t pass on it. … I bet on myself instead of, maybe waiting it out for a maybe [in the NBA]. I’ve enjoyed being back on the women’s side. You guys know I’m effusive about my love for this team…
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