There's a reason the San Antonio Spurs are one of best organizations in the NBA.
Tuesday, the team named Becky Hammon an assistant coach, making her the first female paid by an NBA team to be an assistant.
"I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in a statement. "Having observed her working with our team this past season, I'm confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs."
Lisa Boyer was an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2001-02, but didn't travel to away games and wasn't paid by the Cavaliers. She was paid by the Cleveland Rockers of the WNBA.
Hammon, 37, who plays for the WNBA's San Antonio Stars, will retire after her 16th season. She is a six-time All-Star and two-time first-team All-WNBA, is seventh in points, fourth in assists and sixth in games in WNBA history.
It has been a productive and progressive offseason for the NBA champs. Popovich signed an extension, big man Tim Duncan decided to come back for another season, guard Tony Parker agreed to an extension and Popovich hired well-regarded international coach Ettore Messina as an assistant.
Popovich found out Hammon wanted to coach and invited her to practices during the 2013-14 season and she spent time working with the Spurs coaching staff and players.
Popovich told Inside Stuff that he expected Hammon to become a coach after her playing days.
"She's been perfect," Popovich said then. "She knows when to talk, and she knows when to shut up. That's as simple as you can put it, and a lot of people don't figure that out. … She knows how to do it, and our players really respond to her. She's just a natural."
Popovich compared her to Avery Johnson, Steve Kerr and Mike Budenholzer – of whom played for or worked for Popovich.
