Top 38 Quotes & Sayings by Becky Hammon

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American coach Becky Hammon.

Last updated on April 14, 2025.

Rebecca Lynn Hammon is an American-Russian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She previously served as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time All-American basketball player for the Colorado State Rams, Hammon went on to play for the San Antonio Stars and New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for several other teams outside the United States. Hammon, who was born and raised in the United States, became a naturalized Russian citizen in 2008 and represented the Russian national team in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

American - Coach | Born: March 11, 1977

Source: Wikipedia

It's just really awesome to be rewarded for all your hard work; that people take notice of how I treated my teammates, how I was in my community.

Becky Hammon

If I went to play for Lithuania or Latvia, no one would have talked about it.

Becky Hammon

If you don't want a female coach, don't hire one!

Becky Hammon

I just think there's a real art in listening. I need to listen.

Becky Hammon

I was always with my dad and my brother. I know that if you can't keep up, you get left behind. So you learn to pull your weight. You learn to not be the one that's causing the problems, whether we're camping, where I'd better be the one to help put up the tent.

Becky Hammon

I grew up in the woods; we were either on three-wheelers or four-wheelers or we were playing basketball.

Becky Hammon

Your mind is just constantly moving, thinking of different scenarios, not only on your team but their team too, trying to figure out things they are doing.

Becky Hammon

And a pick and roll in the women's game is a pick and roll on the men's game... I mean, character, working for each other - trusting your teammates. That stuff, that's universal.

Becky Hammon

I... scout, I'm in all the film sessions, I'm in all the coaches meetings, I travel... I'm in on everything.

Becky Hammon

You have those people speaking really good things in your life and it grows and produces fruit later on. But somebody had to initially plant those good seeds.

Becky Hammon

I think it's kind of silly, actually... I've been coached by men the majority of my career. It hasn't ever been an issue. They have never walked in on us. So I don't - I think it's a nonissue when you really reverse the conversation.

Becky Hammon

I was living my dream as a WNBA player.

Becky Hammon

I feel like I've had 20 years of experience at a very high level, if you throw in college, playing overseas, I've played in hundreds and hundreds of games.

Becky Hammon

But when it comes to things of the mind, things like coaching, game-planning, coming up with offensive and defensive schemes, there's no reason why a woman couldn't be in the mix and shouldn't be in the mix.

Becky Hammon

Let's just face it: The average girl is not 6-3. I look very average.

Becky Hammon

The greatest thing about sports, to me, is just the crossover into everyday life.

Becky Hammon

I was always smaller and slower than everybody else, so I had to figure out other ways to be successful. Some people can survive on their athleticism; I had to survive on my brain.

Becky Hammon

But, at the end of the day, you live in the world with billions of people, and everyone has a unique upbringing and experience.

Becky Hammon

People ask me all the time, will there ever be a woman player in the NBA? To be honest, no. There are differences. The guys are too big, too strong and that's just the way it is.

Becky Hammon

But really, I've worked my whole life to become a great basketball player. When I see that jersey go up, I'm sure I'm gonna have flashbacks to when I was 4 and 5 years old playing in my driveway because I loved it. I still love it to this day. It's been one of my first loves in life: basketball.

Becky Hammon

I know who I am. When you get comfortable with yourself like that and you know you're doing the right thing, you can take a lot of crap.

Becky Hammon

The last reason I want to be hired is because of my gender. I want to be hired because you trust me, because of my potential, because you believe that I know basketball, and we go and we build from there.

Becky Hammon

For me, I think it's such a notable point to make that a leader had to believe, a leader had to see that potential.

Becky Hammon

My whole childhood I grew up wanting to be a professional basketball player.

Becky Hammon

It's one thing to watch the NBA, but when you have to be there for every film session, every practice, it's a grind. It's a lot of hard work.

Becky Hammon

Nothing in my life has really ever been easy. I've always been someone who did it uphill.

Becky Hammon

But I think in the midst of working, you can't get too crazy serious.

Becky Hammon

Playing basketball for me is like breathing.

Becky Hammon

You're getting to know these guys as people, and as players. You have to develop a rapport. They give me a lot of respect.

Becky Hammon

If you could play in the Olympics or sit on your couch and watch at home, what would you do? It was that simple. This is basketball; it's not war.

Becky Hammon

You shouldn't get into coaching unless you care about the people you're leading.

Becky Hammon

I'm up for challenges. I'm up for being outside the box, making tough decisions and challenges... And I'm a little bit of an adrenaline junkie.

Becky Hammon

But it's been a learning experience; learning the NBA, learning the travel schedule and certain coaches, their styles, what they like to run out of timeouts, personnel, tendencies.

Becky Hammon

It's 2015, and I'm the first female coach in any of the major sports. That's ridiculous!

Becky Hammon

It's not that I set out to say, 'I'm going be the first assistant coach in the NBA.' That really - it was never my intent. It just kind of happened very naturally.

Becky Hammon

I can't open doors that aren't open. But if a door opens, I would be happy to walk through.

Becky Hammon