Coaches employ a plethora of ways to motivate their players. The means vary based on their coaching philosophies, which are in turn a reflection of their personalities among other things. Some, like Mike Krzyzewski, believe the players need anger to be motivated. Then we have the two time WNBA Championship-winning coach Becky Hammon who believes in the exact opposite: a “happy player” performs better.
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A little over eight months back, the Head Coach of the Las Vegas Aces appeared on Uninterrupted’s chat show, The Shop, where she elaborated on her philosophy. She had described how she’d hear players talk about “running through a wall for their coach”. She always ensured her players knew that she’d do the same for them.
Deep inside, Hammon wants her players to be happy, victories notwithstanding. Then again, the championships have been coming aplenty for the coach.
“We have a real cool relationship,” she had said. “You know you always hear that term like ‘Oh that player would run through the wall for that coach’, and I’m like ‘Yo this coach would run through a wall for you’… At the end of the day, before I was getting into coaching, I was like I decided happy players make better players, so the best environment that I can provide that all you have to do is show up and hoop.”
During the show, Paul Rivera, the CMO of the Springhill Company (which oversees the production of The Shop), wondered how Hammon managed to coach while handling the clash of personalities in the locker room. He then described an incident that went viral.
A’ja Wilson, who was rapping on the Aces bench, suddenly got serious when she noticed Hammon walking by. Rivera described the incident as a proof of Hammon giving them a “one like the mom glance”.
In response, Hammon added: “When they were stretching the next day, I was like ‘I ain’t got time for this!'”
Her relationship with her players is similar to what siblings share. They will joke all they want. But everyone knows that when it’s time to get serious, Hammon will get into the zone, and expects everyone else to follow suit.
After doing such a great job with the Aces, there have been mumblings of her being approached for an NBA HC job. Hammon clarified that she’d never go begging for one.
Hammon wants to be hired on her merit
Hammon said that being one of the first women to do something was a double-edged sword. She also recalled how certain organizations would interview her for a job, and use that as publicity for themselves.
“You use me, I’mma use you back! But if you want to talk and be serious. But I said a year ago I’m not begging for no NBA job. If you want me, come get me, you know where I am,” added Hammon.
Hammon is no stranger to the NBA. She had spent seven years as an assistant coach at the San Antonio Spurs, working under Gregg Popovich. She vividly recalled the amount of hate she received for trivial things during her stint from 2014 to ’21.
However, she also earned acclaim and praise from people including legends of the game. The biggest of compliments came from Pop himself: “I’m confident her basketball IQ, work ethic, and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs.”
That’s not all. She worked with Pau Gasol in San Antonio as well. And the Spaniard was blown away by how shrewd an AC she proved to be.
“I’ve played under two of the sharpest minds in the history of sports, in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. And I’m telling you: Becky Hammon can coach. I’m saying: Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball. Period,” Gasol had said.
The world got a glimpse of her coaching prowess when won the NBA Summer League with the Spurs in 2015, acting as their HC.
