Before their 2014 win, the last time the Spurs won was when I was thirteen. I remember that win a little bit, but not in much detail and not in a way I will remember this one.
I was in Estonia when they won, forcing me to watch the victory over Skype. On my way back home, I stopped in New York for a few days to stay with a friend. Still very excited about the victory, we visited the NBA store in New York City. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but there were no locker room edition championship tee shirts for women. There were, however, kid's sizes, and there's nothing quite like being told that children belong to a more significant demographic than yourself. You know, the one with actual money to spend.
As much as I love this game and the NBA, I have recognized my entire life the role women just don’t seem to play in the game.
I have loved basketball for as long as I can remember. I love the sound of the crowd cheering and the basketball shoes squeaking. I have to admit, it’s pretty easy to love a team that has been in a golden age practically since I was born. While some players have come and gone, the big three and our head coach have been the same for what seems like forever. I don’t remember a time where these guys I have grown to love didn’t exist.
It isn’t just basketball to me. Basketball is much more than that to my life and family's. There is nothing I love more than sitting on the couch with my family and cheering on the Spurs, or getting to treat my dad to a game in Sacramento. I don’t remember when I learned to do it, but I can talk basketball. If you want a twenty minute lecture on why the Memorial Day miracle is one of the greatest moments in basketball history or why Coach Pop is the greatest coach to ever grace this earth, just give me a call.
And yet, for all this love I have in my heart for this game, I have recognized my entire life the significance of the lack of any female coaches. I’ve known there are women on this earth who love this game just as much as I do, with more knowledge than I could ever have, who simply have never been given a chance to coach an NBA team. It certainly has not been the biggest thing on my mind during my life, but it has been on my mind.
Why couldn't women be on that bench? Why couldn’t women who see this game with more insight than I could ever imagine not coach? Why couldn't women who had dedicated their lives to the WNBA not get a chance to coach for the NBA if that’s where they wanted to continue their careers?
And then with a decision that seemed to be made so effortlessly, the Spurs changed everything. On August 5, 2014, Becky Hammon was hired as the first full time, salaried assistant coach. And yes, that salaried part matters. There have been a few women who have been assistant coaches, but not officially. They were categorized as volunteers, partially because they were not being paid or did not travel with the teams. While some say these factors don’t matter, they were essentially doing the same thing as an assistant coach, it meant their roles could be debated.
There will be no debate with Becky Hammon. She is an assistant coach, just like all the other men sitting on all those other benches. Her role in history is not grey but black and white.
The best part of Hammon being hired? She was not hired because she was a woman. If anyone tells you this, they are flat out delusional. I don’t know a team out there that would be willing to pay an entire salary for an assistant coach just for a publicity stunt, especially not a small franchise like the Spurs.
No, Hammon was hired because of how smart she is and how she fits with the Spurs culture. She was picked because of her incredible career in the WNBA. She’s a six time All Star and was voted one of the top 15 WNBA players of all time. This job was not given to her so she could be a token female coach but because she earned it.
Spurs culture is a big deal. As many people have put it, the Spurs do not have knuckleheads. While they certainly take the time to celebrate big wins, Spurs players are often described as being on the more serious side. They get on the court, do their jobs and help their teammates do their jobs too. Being a Spur is not just wearing a jersey but being a certain kind of player.
Hammon was hired because she fits in this culture. As Coach Pop puts it, he likes her humor. She likes to learn and Pop sees potential in her to become a head coach.
To hear a man I deeply respect say he thinks a woman could be a coach, that’s pretty significant to me. The fact that he sees her as a coach first and foremost, not just as a woman, that’s a pretty significant too.
So tonight when the Spurs tipped off the season, I was keeping an eye out for Hammon. I couldn’t see her for a minute but then she was there, right behind Coach Pop. I’m not sure if I can really describe what I felt when I saw her there, hair slicked back into a ponytail and talking to another coach. Relief? Gratitude? Pride? I don’t know what I was feeling, I’m just glad she was there.
Finally women like me are being represented in a sport I love and can not imagine life without. Finally a woman will be on that bench, sharing her insights and knowledge to make an NBA team stronger. Maybe one day I'll be watching Hammon leading the Spurs to a championship and I'll be able to tell my kids I remembered when she was just an assistant coach. I couldn’t be more happy this moment in history has occurred and I couldn’t be more proud it was my beloved Spurs that made it happen.
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