Becky Hammon

Her collegiate accolades included WAC Freshman of the Year (1995-96), WAC Tournament MVP (1996), and Player of the Year honors for both the Pacific (1996-97) and Mountain Divisions (1997-98, 1998-99). Colorado State retired her number 25 jersey in 2005. Hammon then joined the New York Liberty in 1999, playing eight seasons and reaching three WNBA Finals (1999, 2000, 2002). She later led the San Antonio Stars to their first WNBA Finals appearance in 2008, retiring as the Stars’ franchise leader in assists per game (5.1) and scoring average (15.6), and a WNBA career free throw percentage leader (89.7).

Her exceptional coaching trajectory continued, hired as the head coach for the Las Vegas Aces on December 31, 2021. Hammon quickly led the team to their first WNBA Championship in 2022, becoming the first rookie head coach to achieve this feat. She repeated the championship success in 2023, guiding the Aces to the first back-to-back WNBA titles in over 20 years. In 2022, she also led the team to a Commissioner’s Cup Championship and was honored with the WNBA Coach of the Year award.

Hammon’s enduring impact on basketball has been celebrated through multiple prestigious Hall of Fame inductions. She was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (2015), the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame (2018), and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2022), culminating with her induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12, 2023. Additionally, Hammon represented Russia in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, earning a bronze medal in 2008.