Becky Hammon among finalists for Portland Trail Blazers head coaching position

San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon is among the finalists lined up for a second interview to fill the head coaching vacancy for the Portland Trail Blazers. Other candidates include former NBA star Chauncey Billups, Mike D’Antoni and University of South Carolina women’s head coach Dawn Stanley.

Hammon had been linked to other head coaching jobs such as the Orlando Magic this offseason, but no other news has come of it, although the spot still remains vacant. Should she be hired, she would become the first female head coach in the NBA, but she has already made some NBA history in her own right. Hired by the Spurs in 2014, she became the first female head coach of a Summer League team in 2015 and even took it a step further by winning the championship.

On December 30, 2020, she became the first female to coach a regular season NBA game after Gregg Popovich was ejected in the second quarter of a Spurs game against the Lakers. Hammon has more than earned the right to be a head coach in the NBA, but it would certainly be hard for Spurs fans to say goodbye should she get the job elsewhere.

The Trail Blazers and former head coach Terry Stotts, who had been there since 2012, mutually agreed to part ways after Portland’s fourth first round exit in five years. He holds the second-most wins in franchise history with 402.