The Toronto Raptors could make NBA history next season if they decide to hire Becky Hammon as their new coach to replace Nick Nurse, who was fired after underperforming this year.
Hammon, current coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA, has done an impressive job as a manager, which has led her to be considered by the Raptors as one of the candidates for the coaching position, something that if it happened, would make her the first woman in charge of a full-time NBA bench.
As reported by ESPN, the leader of the Las Vegas Aces, who was an assistant to Gregg Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs, is on a list that also includes the Spanish Jordi Fernández, assistant to Mike Brown at the Sacramento Kings.
At the Aces press conference held this Saturday, the coach was asked about these rumors but was emphatic in expressing that she is focused on her current team. “I am not commenting on Toronto. This is all about the Aces, and I won’t take a moment from these women to talk about those guys,” she said.
Hammon already had the honor of making NBA history when he managed a Spurs game as an interim in 2020, taking over for an indisposed Popovich at the time.
The former player has seen immediate success on the Las Vegas Aces, taking the Coach of the Year award in her first season, after her team had the best record in the league at 26-10 and were subsequently WNBA champions.
Hammon had an outstanding career as a player in the WNBA, in teams like the San Antonio Stars and in international basketball, with the Spaniards Rivas Ecópolis and Ros Casares Valencia.
In 2014, she announced her retirement as a player and later became an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs, making her the first woman to be part of an NBA coaching staff.