Impact 50: Hammon's Trailblazing Rooted at Colorado State
Ram standout has altered the sport of basketball
Mike Brohard
Her legend continues to grow.
Becky Hammon has barnstormed her way through the basketball world, breaking down barriers and climbing walls. She did it as a player in the WNBA, going from an undrafted hopeful to a six-time All-Star who was named to the league’s 15th, 20th and 25th Anniversary teams.
As a coach, she became the NBA’s first female assistant coach, and as she moved to the WNBA this season, was named the Coach of the Year after the regular season, then led the Las Vegas Aces to their first WNBA title.
“It’s unbelievable. She was always someone I followed because of her career and the boundaries she’s broken and continues to break,” Aces player Kelsey Plum said. “For her to be able to come in and be our coach, it’s like from God. I’m so grateful, and I’ve learned so much in a short amount of time, and I know that she’s not done. She’s really just starting. She’s going to continue to do amazing things and it’s going to pave the way for someone like me. I don’t know what I want to do, but I have a great example.”
In Fort Collins, her every move has been celebrated. Not just what she did in the WNBA, but when she spent three off-season’s playing in the NWBL for the Colorado Chill at the Budweiser Events Center, giving local fans a chance to still watch her perform. She led that team to two league titles.
The legend grows, but it had to take root somewhere, which was Colorado State for the South Dakota native.
“I think the best thing Colorado State gave me was just opportunity. At the time, Greg Williams and Kerry Deering, the people who recruited me there, gave me a lot of freedom and taught me how to play the game at a high level, and I was able to play immediately,” Hammon said. “I don’t think there’s any replacement for on-the-job training. A lot of times you go to bigger schools, you might sit the bench for two years before you actually get a real run in, and for me, I was able to play all four years at a really high level. It’s interesting, because I’ve been around women’s basketball my whole life, and so many people didn’t have great experiences in college. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I had a total blast in college.’ Nothing but fond memories, really.
“We did a lot of amazing stuff there, and I had a lot of amazing teammates. Katie Cronin, obviously comes to mind first, but there was Teresa James, Dee Dee Dominguez … There’s been so many high-quality players I played with, quality players who came after me. It’s cool. My niece just graduated from Colorado State, and she said your jersey is still up at Moby, you’re all over the place. She’ll snap me pictures here and there. It’s obviously a big honor.”
All well deserved. She graduated as the leading scorer in WAC history, regardless of gender. She was a consensus All-American in 1999 and an honorable mention All-American the two years prior. The list goes on and on. Three times she was named the WAC Player of the Year. The Rams finished in the top 25 twice in her career. She owned the CSU record book when she left, and still ranks first in career steals (315), 3-pointers made (365) and attempted (888), free throws made (539) and attempted (641) and of course scoring, with 2,740 points. Her four seasons are the top four scoring seasons in CSU history.
I think you just do your best with whatever opportunity presents itself and by doing your best, hopefully you leave more opportunities and better opportunities for the next generation.Becky Hammon
She was electric with the ball in her hand. At 5-foot-6, she had no fear when she entered the paint, and there was no denying her creativity as a passer. She was fierce and unrelenting, and she thrived in the big moments. Most of all, she made those around her better.
She is regarded as the greatest Ram ever in her sport, and it isn’t even close, with her No. 25 jersey just the fourth retired at Colorado State. The program she represented will forever be proud to call her a Ram, and her name still carries clout.
“CSU created that opportunity for her. That’s’ where it started, right here at Colorado State,” current coach Ryun Williams said. “How she’s pioneered it is mind-blowing. If you want to know where this place can take you, just look at Becky Hammon. It can take you to the absolute pinnacle of the basketball world, male or female.
“Becky is arguably the greatest female figure in the game of basketball. To have her associated with Colorado State is an honor. It’s great, when on ESPN they say she’s a Colorado State grad, and also a six-time All-WNBA player. She’s women’s basketball right now. She’s the pioneer.”
She was on the scene in Fort Collins when Colorado State female athletes were drawing a lot of attention to the school. It was while she was here Amy Van Dyken served notice in the pool, becoming America’s original Golden Girl with her four-gold-medal performance at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
When people talk about the great athletes in Colorado State’s history, those two names always come up. They generally are named right at the top before any of their male counterparts. For Hammon, that’s a hallowed place to reside.
“I’m super proud, especially when you have people like Amy Van Dyken who had phenomenal careers,” Hammon said. “So many great athletes came out of Colorado State, so, to be considered one of the greats coming out of there, it’s a big honor.”
If Hammon’s path was limited to just what she did as a player, both collegiately and professionally, her name would still be spoken in these parts with great reverence. Colorado State is proud of how she represented the school while she wore the green and gold, but the university is even prouder of who she has become.
She silenced her critics as a player with a 16-year WNBA career, and she’s amazed the basketball world by stepping into a male-dominated field and more than held her own. Each and every step she’s taken has been initially done with raised eyebrows, but at this point, the shock value diminishes with every subsequent step forward.
Personally, it’s not about her. It’s about the game and building it up by tearing down the preconceived.
“Honestly, I just try to walk down the path that’s available, what opportunities there are and that’s led to trailblazing paths, but it was never like I set out to do this,” Hammon said. “It just happened, organically. So, I think you just do your best with whatever opportunity presents itself and by doing your best, hopefully you leave more opportunities and better opportunities for the next generation.”
Hammon has never been one to look for the spotlight, but her accomplishments and the way she’s professionally carried herself make it hard for her to avoid. So, she is trying to use it for the good of the game.
If eyes are on her, they likely can be diverted to the sport she loves, the players she coaches and the fact they are amazing athletes. She just wants people to watch and take note.
“The visual effects of it, right? The more people who see women’s basketball, it gets settled in,” she said. “This generation has been seeing professional women’s basketball for more than 25 years now, and I think if you want to see generational change, you have to get early to the young minds, of not only little girls but little boys. Everybody has to see these women as capable athletes, the best athletes in the business, which they are. It’s frustrating for me, because I feel like basketball is the only sport that men and women are compared.
“You don’t see Serena Williams being compared to Novak Djokovic. Serena Williams is great, she is the GOAT, the greatest player of all time, and it’s just that. It’s not comparing this person and that person. Even women’s soccer. I couldn’t name you one player on the men’s national team. I can name you a lot of the women because of their dominance and success. Women’s basketball has had the same dominance, especially internationally as the US women’s soccer team. There’s still this stigma of they can’t dunk. Well, how many times does Steph Curry dunk in a year? Come out and appreciate the skillset. People often times are looking for reasons not to watch instead of to watch, and I can tell you the product we put on the floor, you want to pay your money to go watch.”
Hammon is big on recognizing those who came before her. She said it was a Teresa Edwards, an Anne Meyers, Nancy Lieberman and Cheryl Miller who fought battles she no longer has to recognize. For their contributions, she is grateful.
The groundwork they laid out in front of her has allowed her to search and explore new paths and conquer new worlds for women. For that, A’Ja Wilson is grateful.
“Becky has done so much for our game, and the fact she’s back here giving it back, surely shows the inspirational human being she really is,” Wilson said. “To be able to come in and work with somebody like Becky is incredible. Her basketball IQ is off the charts, but also seeing her as a mom, that’s the beauty of it all. Seeing her as a woman in our world its truly inspiring. I’m glad I can be coached by her because she pushes me to my best all the time. She does a great job of understanding who we are on a level that’s bigger than basketball, and that truly means a lot to me. I was coached by Dawn Staley, and that was the same, so coming in with Becky has certainly been a huge deal.”
What she has done in the sport of basketball has been groundbreaking. Her influence on the game and how it is viewed and played cannot be questioned.
More than two decades prior, it all started in Fort Collins. She’ll never forget, because the first step is always memorable, even if you don’t know eventually where the road will lead.
“It brings back a flood of memories, but I think that it’s super cool that so many years removed they’re still honoring the work we put in there,” she said of herself and her teammates. “Myself, the fact they know my name is very cool. Really, that’s why the legacy of reaching the next generation is what I’m most proud of. Even though I haven’t been back there in a while, the impact still remains.”