Becky Hammon on returning to the WNBA “Las vegas is the place for me”

On Monday afternoon, the Las Vegas Aces held a press conference with new head coach Becky Hammon and team president Nikki Fargas. Hammon was announced as the new head coach just before New Year’s Eve. She granted a Zoom interview from Toronto where she and the San Antonio Spurs are preparing for tonight’s game against the Raptors.

When asked about her decision to take on the head coaching role, Hammon shared:

“This was the best spot for me and my family and an opportunity for me to sit in the big chair and be a head coach of a major professional sports league. I feel like I’m ready to have my own team and this is the organization that made it very, very obvious they wanted me really really bad. It’s always good to be wanted it quick;y became evident that Las Vegas is the place for me.”

On how her experience with the Spurs has prepared her for the move to head coaching:

“I’ve sat on so many meetings..I’ve tried to be a sponge, in order to improve you have to be a sponge your entire career, even sitting in the head coaching seat, you’re still in the process of learning and bringing on new information...I feel like I’m ready to be in that seat...I have a lot to give...basketball is basketball...it really doesn’t matter who is out there. I want to coach the highest level basketball players.”

The Aces were in the WNBA Finals in 2020, but were unable to complete their goal. Hammon saw the talent in the team and feels she is the right person to get the Aces to the next level, ultimately grabbing that WNBA title.

“I think a championship is well within reach. That opportunity in itself, to walk into a situation with a winning a team and the caliber of players I’ll be inheriting from Bill (Laimbeer), and the foundation he laid, I am super fortunate and super blessed, and obviously excited.”

The interview was nearly an hour long and these quotes here are just a snippet of the first few moments when Coach Hammon was greeting the reporters and fielding the first questions. We will continue to transcribe the full press conference and share it throughout the week.

For tonight, Hammon and the Spurs are in Toronto hoping to break a three game losing streak on the road.

Go Spurs Go!

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