SAN ANTONIO β Congratulations to former San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon as she's been named the 2022 WNBA Coach of the Year.
Hammon becomes the third former WNBA player to win the award and is the first former player to earn the honor in her debut season as a WNBA head coach and the only one to win the award while coaching the franchise for which she previously played in this case, the former San Antonio Stars.
She received 27 votes from a national panel of 56 sportswriters and broadcasters.
In just her first season with the Aces, she led them to a league-best 26-10 record, the top seed in the league as the playoffs inch closer, and are currently on a 4-game winning streak.
Hammon has done a remarkable job with the Aces but has not forgotten the lessons Spurs' Gregg Popovich taught her about leading a team from the sidelines.
"Not skipping steps is the most important, especially early on in training camp," Hammon said. "The biggest point is to lay a great foundation of fundamentals and basics and you start with communication."
RELATED: Becky Hammon leads Aces to 9-1 start, talks about what coaching with Pop and the Spurs taught her
She continues to get support from the San Antonio community as fans are closely watching how she is doing with the Aces, and cheering her on each step of the way.
Recently, she was nominated for the Texas Sports Hall of Fame 2023 Class for her efforts in San Antonio.
She played 16 seasons in the WNBA, including her final eight in San Antonio, where she led the franchise to its first WNBA Finals appearance.
On August 5, 2014, Popovich hired her as a full-time assistant, making her the first woman in league history to occupy that position.
Hammon and the Aces will continue their chase for the franchiseβs first WNBA championship when they host the fourth-seeded Seattle Storm in Game 1 of a Semifinals series on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) on ESPN.
Follow us on Twitter at @KENS5 and at @JeffGSpursKENS5.