Becky Hammon’s desk looks like that of any other head coach. It’s drenched in clutter — littered with pieces of paper scrawled with offensive sets and X’s and O’s and everything else in between.
After a Hall of Fame playing career — she’s being inducted this August — and eight years under the tutelage of tactical genius, and fellow Hall of Famer, Gregg Popovich, the Aces coach has accrued what feels like a doctorate in basketball knowledge.
Yet she’s been passed over again and again for NBA head-coaching jobs. That is made all the more confusing by the fact that a spot in Popovich’s coaching tree has been something of a golden ticket for many of her contemporaries.
But while Hammon has never been afraid to break a glass ceiling, the Las Vegas Aces coach also doesn’t define herself by them. And amid swirling rumors linking the championship-winning skipper with the Raptors’ vacant head-coaching gig, Hammon is keeping her cool.
“I love being here,” Hammon told Time’s Sean Gregory. “I love being back on the women’s side. I don’t need the stamp of approval from the NBA.”
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Hammon’s name has been tossed and turned in the NBA coaching carousel for what feels like ages. She made waves in San Antonio, first as a player…
