Indiana Pacers: Who is Becky Hammon and why is she a great fit for the Pacers?

Becky Hammon has been a popular candidate for the Indiana Pacers head coach

The search for a new head coach has begun for the Indiana Pacers. Another season, another sweep led to the firing of Nate McMillan and now Kevin Pritchard begins the search. Some big names have surfaced as potential coaches like Mike D’Antoni, Chauncey Billups, and Dave Joerger. Another name has also risen to the top of the list that should be on anyone with a coaching vacancy’s radar and that name is Becky Hammon.

Becky Hammon’s Resume

For those of you that don’t know who Becky Hammon is, she is a rare breed of basketball talent. Hammon was an undrafted point guard out of Colorado State who turned herself into one of the best WNBA and women’s basketball players of all time.

She played for two WNBA franchises, the New York Liberty and San Antonio Stars. In her illustrious career, she was a 6-time All-Star, 2x First-team All-WNBA, 2x Second-team All-WNBA, and the WNBA assist leader in 2007. In 2011, she was named to the WNBA top-15 players of all time. What an impressive career from someone that San Antonio dubbed “Big Shot” Becky.

Becky Hammon is also a disciple of the Spurs’ way. Hammon started her coaching career as an assistant to Greg Popovich, one of the best coaches in NBA history. The Spurs asked for her to sit on practices, meetings, and games to give her input. On Aug. 5, 2014, the Spurs made it official and made her a part of the coaching staff as an assistant.

Pau Gasol had some high praise for Becky Hammon while he was a member of the Spurs. He said this of Hammon: “I’ve played under two of the sharpest minds in the history of sports Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson. And I’m telling you: Becky Hammon can coach. I’m not saying she can coach pretty well. I’m not saying she can coach enough to get by. I’m not saying she can coach almost at the level of the NBA male coaches. I’m saying Becky Hammon can coach NBA Basketball. Period.” That is huge praise especially coming from a two-time champion and future Hall of Famer.

Becky Hammon’s Fit with the Indiana Pacers

President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said he wanted to go out of the box for hire of the next head coach. Becky Hammon would be just that. Hammon has proven herself to be quite the head coach with an overqualified resume and a reference from one of the best coaches in NBA history.

She is a grinder proving that with her playing days of going undrafted and becoming one of the best WNBA players of all time. She can win as a coach as she proved in back in 2015 when she led the Spurs to a Summer League title. She is great personally with the players as they adore and love working with someone of her caliber.

The Pacers are looking for a program builder and Becky Hammon fits that mold. I believe Hammon would be a great hire for the Pacers and that she could propel this team to new heights. The only question is will the Pacers pull the trigger?