Michael Quinn

Breaking barriers for women within the NBA is nothing new for Becky Hammon, as she became the first woman to hold a full-time assistant coaching job in 2014 for the San Antonio Spurs. But that was just a start for her. Now, she’s on the hunt for something much bigger, something even more groundbreaking; a head coaching position for an NBA team. 

Throughout her time as an assistant coach on the San Antonio Spurs, Hammon gained respect from numerous players around the league. Former Spurs’ center, Pau Gasol, wrote an open letter on female coaches for The Players Tribune. Gasol acknowledged the “pushes now for increased gender diversity in the workplace,” and how he hopes that the NBA “will never feel satisfied with being forward-thinking ‘for a sports league’.” The NBA has always been a forward-thinking league, and another opportunity is at hand this off-season.  

This NBA off-season has seen multiple head coaching spots open up, which isn’t anything new. The difference in this off-season, however, is Hammon is being considered for one of these positions. The Indiana Pacers started their head coaching quest in late August, expressing interest in a collection of candidates, one of them being Hammon. Gasol went on to praise Hammon even more, stating “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.” With high praise from players, teams should be interested in hiring Hammon as a head coach, now more than ever with as many open spots in the league. 

Consideration for such a position is an honor in itself for Hammon, but to get it would be an enormous push towards more gender diversity in the league. Hammon would become the first woman to hold a head coaching position in NBA history. Breaking that glass ceiling in the NBA would be monumental for women searching for positions in this league, opening up more opportunities for women to be hired in the sport. Not only will this inspire more women to secure spots in the NBA, but it will also open up way more opportunities for them in sports around the world. League’s are already taking steps to become more diverse, with the hiring of female referees and assistant coaches, but the hiring of a full-time head coach would be a giant step forward.