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Becky Hammon

Becky Hammon
WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars  – No. 25
Guard
Born	(1977-03-11) March 11, 1977 (age 36) Rapid City, South Dakota
Nationality	American Russian
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight	136 lb (62 kg)
High school	Stevens High School
College	Colorado State
WNBA career	1999–present
Non-WNBA career	2001–present
Profile	WNBA player profile
WNBA Teams
New York Liberty (1999–2006) San Antonio Silver Stars (2007–present)
Non-WNBA Teams
Trentino Rovereto Basket (2001–2002) Rivas Ecópolis (2006–2007) CSKA Moscow (2007–2009) Ros Casares Valencia (2009–2010) Orenburg (2010-2011) Spartak (2011-2012)
Awards and Honors
6× WNBA All-Star (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011) All-WNBA First Team (2007, 2009) All-WNBA Second Team (2005, 2008)
Medal record Women's Basketball Competitor for  Russia Olympic Games Bronze 2008 Beijing National Team

Rebecca Lynn 'Becky' Hammon (born March 11, 1977) is a professional basketball player currently under contract with the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA. Hammon, who was born and grew up in the United States, became a naturalized Russian citizen in 2008, and has represented the Russian national team since then.

Early life [edit]

Becky is the daughter of Martin and Bev Hammon, She has one brother, Matt and one sister, Gina. Becky played high school basketball at Stevens High School in her hometown of Rapid City, South Dakota. As a junior, she was South Dakota Miss Basketball. As a senior, she was voted the South Dakota Player of the Year after averaging 26 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals per game.

College career [edit]

Hammon had a distinguished career at Colorado State. Her prolific scoring made her an All-American as well as Colorado Sportswoman of the Year. She led her team to a 33-3 record in the 1998-1999 season and helped them advance to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen. She was the WAC Mountain Division player of the year for the 1998-1999 season and surpassed University of Utah player Keith Van Horn as the WAC's all-time leading scorer.

Hammon set many Colorado State all-time records, including points (2740), points per game (21.92), field goals made (918), free throws made (539), three-point field goals made (365) and assists (538). She received the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association as the best senior player under 5 ft 8 in (1.7 m) in 1999.^[1]

On November 12, 2004, Becky Hammon was inducted into the Colorado State University Sports Hall of Fame. On January 22, 2005, her #25 Colorado State jersey was retired at the Moby Arena.

Professional career [edit]

Becky Hammon shooting a basketball during her visit to Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, February 2002.

WNBA [edit]

Undrafted during her rookie season, Hammon was signed to the WNBA on May 12, 1999 and joined the New York Liberty. She had a surprisingly solid rookie season statistically, backing up starting point guard Teresa Weatherspoon. Her aggressive play at both ends of the court made her a favorite among Liberty fans. After the 2003 season, Hammon took over for Teresa Weatherspoon as the Liberty's starting point guard and along with Vickie Johnson and Crystal Robinson, became one of the team's co-captains in 2004.

In her first season in 2003 with the Tennessee Fury of the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL), Hammon led the league in scoring, averaging 20.6 points per game. In 2004, Hammon signed with the Colorado Chill, a new team to the NWBL, but played in only 2 games because of a knee injury she sustained in the 2003 season when playing for the New York Liberty.

Primarily used to provide instant points off the bench, Hammon finally had a breakout season in 2003, providing much-needed offense for the Liberty. However, her season was cut short by a knee injury.

On August 16, 2005, Hammon scored her 2000th WNBA career point. At the end of the 2005 season, she was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.

In January 2007 she played her WNBA "off season" with Rivas Futura in the Spanish League

On April 4, 2007 during the WNBA Draft, Becky Hammon was traded to the Silver Stars along with a second round draft pick in the 2008 draft for the second overall first round pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft, center Jessica Davenport.

Hammon had her best season of her career in 2007 posting career high averages of 18.8 ppg (fourth best) and 5.0 apg (first in WNBA). While in San Antonio, Hammon earned the nickname, "Big Shot Becky" because of her ability to hit shots in clutch moments. It comes from the nickname "Big Shot Rob" given to San Antonio Spurs forward, Robert Horry.^[2]

Becky averaged 17.6 ppg, and 4.9 apg as she led the Silver Stars to a WNBA best record 24-10 and led them into the playoffs for a second straight year. In the conference semi finals, Becky scored 30 points in a Game 1 win against the Sacramento Monarchs. San Antonio would eventually win the series and advance to the Western Conference Finals. Following a loss in Game 1 and a win in Game 2, Hammon's 35 points propelled the Silver Stars to a victory in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Silver Stars advanced to the WNBA Finals where they were defeated by the Detroit Shock 3-0.

Becky averaged a career-high 19.5 ppg and 5.0 apg in the 2009 WNBA season. The San Antonio Silver Stars had a record of 15-19 and lost to the eventual champion Phoenix Mercury in the first round. Becky was an All-Star as well as a first-team All-WNBA selection.

On August 31, 2011, Hammon became the seventh player in WNBA history to score 5000 points. Later in the year, Hammon scored 37 points in a playoff-clinching win against the Los Angeles Sparks.

WNBA career statistics [edit]

Regular season [edit]

Postseason [edit]

NWBL Basketball [edit]

• Tennessee Fury (2002-2003)
• Colorado Chill (2004-2006)

Other clubs [edit]

• Trentino Rovereto Basket (2001–2002)
• Rivas Ecópolis (2006–2007)
• CSKA Moscow (2007–2009)
• Ros Casares Valencia (2009–2010)
• Orenburg (2010-2011)
• Spartak (2011-2012)

International basketball [edit]

Becky Hammon, basketball player of the Spanish team Ros Casares, looks at the trophy that was picked up as winner of the Queen's Cup of basketball of 2010, while Belinda Snell (turned) picks up hers.

After learning that, once again, she would not be invited to try out for the US national team, Hammon announced she would try to claim a roster slot on the Russian national team in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Hammon became a Russian citizen in 2008. The coach of Russia's team, Igor Grudin, is also the sports director of the CSKA team that Hammon plays for in Moscow during the WNBA off-season. Hammon also signed a three-year extension with the CSKA team at around the same time she was named as a prospect for the national team.

Hammon's decision to play for Russia was controversial in American basketball.^[3] In some circles she was branded an American traitor, with then-U.S. national coach Anne Donovan questioning her patriotism. "If you play in this country, live in this country, and you grow up in the heartland and you put on a Russian uniform, you are not a patriotic person in my mind," Donovan said.^[4]

Hammon responded to Donovan's criticism saying, "You don't know me. You don't know what that flag means to me. You don't know how I grew up. The biggest honor in our classroom was who could put up the (American) flag, roll it up right, not let the corners touch the ground. Obviously we definitely define patriotism differently." She has also stated. "I love my country. I love our national anthem. It absolutely gives me chills sometimes. I feel honored to be an American, to be from America because of what we stand for."^[4] Hammon said she played for Russia primarily to play on the Olympic stage, and it was not a purely financial decision. Although by obtaining Russian citizenship, her salary with CSKA tripled, and she was eligible to make $250,000 for winning a gold medal for Russia. She would have received a $150,000 bonus for winning a silver medal.^[4]

Since then, Anne Donovan recanted her accusations, stating "I don't know that I have any strong thoughts on [Becky Hammon joining the Russian national team] anymore. Even at the time. I've know marathon runners in particular that I've watched over the years have represented other countries. I've watched other athletes do it."^[5] She also said "The thing that took me off guard with Becky was that it hasn't happened in women's basketball before. And again, the facts around that: that we didn't ask her to participate, that we didn't ask her to try out for our team, that's really what I had the most issue with. Becky made a great business decision and this was a great opportunity for her to get to the Olympic Games. I hold no grudge … more power to her. But the facts around it when it first came out were not accurate. Becky came, had a great experience; I'm glad we're going to the gold medal game."^[5]

Hammon shot 1-for-6 from the field in a 67–52 loss to the United States in the 2008 Olympic Semifinals, but helped the Russian team to win the bronze medal, by scoring 22 points against China.

She has since played for Russia at Eurobasket in 2009, the World Championship in 2010 and the Olympics in 2012.

Awards and achievements [edit]

2005

• Colorado State University retired Becky's jersey
• Won the NWBL Championship with the Colorado Chill
• Named to All WNBA 2nd Team

2006

• Won 2nd NWBL Championship with the Colorado Chill
• Named NWBL MVP

2007

• Won World League Championship with CSKA
• Named to All WNBA 1st Team

2008

• Led the San Antonio Silver Stars to the best record in the WNBA and to San Antonio's first ever Western Conference Championship.
• Made the Guinness World Record for Most Free Throws Made in a Minute (women’s category) after hitting 38 of 42 attempts in the allotted 60 seconds on Saturday, Feb. 16, at the NBA All-Star Jam Session.
• Voted into Euroleague All-Star Game
• Won the Cup of Russia with CSKA
• Silver Medalist in the Russian League Championships
• Won the 2008 Haier Shooting Stars Competition along with David Robinson and Tim Duncan
• Chosen as Athlete of the Year by the Rapid City Journal
• Named to All WNBA 2nd Team

2009

• Voted into the EuroLeague All-Star Game
• Won the EuroLeague All-Star 3 Point Shoot Out
• Voted into the WNBA All-Star Game
• Won the WNBA All-Star Game 3 Point Shoot Out
• Named to the All WNBA 1st Team

2010

• Voted into the 2010 EuroLeague All-Star Game (Did not play)
• Won the 2010 Haier Shooting Stars Competition at the NBA All-Star Weekend with Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Smith
• Inducted into the South Dakota High School Basketball Hall of Fame
• Named to the WNBA All-Star Game (Did not play due to injury)

2011

• Named to the WNBA's exclusive Top 15 Players of All Time list

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Becky Hammon

• Official website
• Becky Hammon at WNBA.com
• WNBA chat transcript
• NWBL.com player profile