Men coach in the W, but when will women coach in the NBA? There are many potential, but a disappointed Dawn Staley feels, “No, I don’t [believe it will happen in my lifetime]. And I hope I’m wrong.” The South Carolina Gamecocks HC was one of the candidates considered for the New York Knicks’ head coach position. In fact, things went so far that she was even reportedly interviewed for the same. However, the Knicks went in another direction, which made Staley lose faith, and now Becky Hammon backs her up.

Becky Hammon was recently interviewed by the crew of ‘The Ballers Magazine’. There, the host asked her about her thoughts on Dawn Staley’s recent remarks.  Hammon revealed having her doubts, since “When I left the NBA, in some ways, I thought, ‘[a female head coach] could happen in two years.’ And in some other ways, I thought, ‘This ain’t gonna happen for another 20 years’”. Well, the Aces star, who has held NBA experience under Gregg Popovich for the Spurs, isn’t losing hope easily.

Hammon still has some hope and said, “It could… it could happen. I don’t there’s really no good reason why it shouldn’t, or couldn’t, other than people are uncomfortable with change, or doing something that’s never been done.” According to Becky Hammon, the reason why a woman has not become an NBA coach yet is that the hiring people want to stick to consistency. After all, their jobs are on the line too, and they wouldn’t want to risk it by doing it out of the job.

Additionally, not a lot of people would be putting their names for consideration as well. After all, a woman NBA coach would have a different set of expectations on her shoulders. “I could tell you, I could go in there and get a job and I could do it all right and do as good a job or a better job than a man and and maybe he fails, but it’s not going to be looked at the same way as if I were to do the same thing,” Hammon added. “And it’s just not. And so, it’s a lot to sign up for.”

This similar thought process was expressed by Dawn Staley. When delivering her remarks, the Gamecocks coach highlighted being relieved because, as she said, “If I’m the Knicks coach and you have a five-game losing streak, it’s not going to be about the losing streak, it’s going to be about being a female coach”. To date, there have been 15 women who have served as assistant coaches in the NBA. The good sign, 12 of them were hired beyond 2017, a shift in the NBA’s messaging. So come 2027, it won’t be surprising if there’s a female HC.

Dawn Staley herself said she accepted the interview opportunity from the Knicks because she has known team president Leon Rose and senior adviser William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley for 30 years. Staley revealed, making it clear during the interview, that the Knicks would have to be prepared to handle the scrutiny she would have endured if she had been hired as the first woman head coach in NBA history. Whether that was the point that ended it all, or something else, but it was made clear that the NBA still isn’t prepared to introduce this concept yet.

Who knows, perhaps a change might come in Dawn Staley and Becky Hammon’s lifetime. After all, when it comes to the public spotlight, a renowned sportscaster is willing to back at least one of them.

Stephen A. Smith endorses Becky Hammon for NBA coach role after Aces championship win

Even when A’ja Wilson was drafted 1st overall by the Las Vegas Aces back in 2018, the Las Vegas Aces didn’t see too much growth. The same changed when Becky Hammon came on board 4 years later. She promised to scrap former coach Bill Laimbeer’s methodical, post-heavy system for a modern pace-and-space operation, had Wilson play center on defense for the first time in her pro career, and start shooting 3s.

Lo and behold, the Las Vegas Aces have today won 3 championship titles in the span of 4 years. Even if the Indiana Fever gave the Aces some trouble in the recent series, the feat was impressive enough to get praise from Stephen A. Smith himself.

During an October 11 segment of ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show’, the ESPN sportscaster said, “I’m here to tell you something right now: Becky Hammon, as a head coach for the Las Vegas Aces, I’ve said this on many occasions, and I’ll say it again: She deserves to coach in the NBA”. On top of that, he added that “If I owned a team in the NBA, I would not mind giving her a chance as the head coach of my franchise. That woman knows what she’s doing. She has been a staple in basketball, period.”

Becky Hammon possesses basketball knowledge both as a player and as a coach. Plus, she has worked under a legend like Gregg Popovich, who, by the time she left the NBA team, had coached the San Antonio Spurs for 25 years! The knowledge she gained was used to make the Las Vegas Aces the modern version of the late 90s Houston Comets, or early 2000s’ Los Angeles Sparks, or the 2010s’ Minnesota Lynx.

Her style also reminds the 90s of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, or the 2000s Los Angeles Lakers, or the 2010s Golden State Warriors! If anyone deserves to transition from the WNBA to the NBA, it is her. Do you think Becky Hammon should be the first female head coach in the NBA? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.