- ABC News
- July 24, 2015
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich opened up about assistant coach Becky Hammon's leadership in the team's Las Vegas Summer League title, expressing his respect for and confidence in Hammon's expertise and insight. In a radio interview with the Bay Area's KNBR on Wednesday, Popovich discussed Hammon's impact on the team. "It became huge when we hired her, and now it's even bigger because of the summer league situation. But we didn't even think about that stuff," the five-time NBA champion coach said. Perhaps more than he had been previously, Popovich was transparent about his reasons for hiring Hammon, who spent time observing the Spurs' coaching staff during a yearlong recovery from an ACL injury she suffered in July 2013 while playing for the San Antonio Silver Stars. "I hired her because she was in my coaches meetings for an entire year because she was injured," Popovich said. "She's got opinions and solid notions about basketball. Obviously, she was a great player. As a...