
There are many women that are inspirational in the world. Robin Roberts’ storytelling and support for others after battling a rare blood and bone marrow disease and 19-year-old Lauren Hill who is batting a rare form of brain cancer and despite having just months to live, continues to live out her dream of playing college basketball for Mount St. Joseph. Those are just a few of the many women who have inspired us in 2014.
You can now add former San Antonio Stars guard and current Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon to the list. On Tuesday, Hammon was named the the very first Woman of the Year in Sports by ESPN W.
Hammon beat out Michelle Wie, Serena Williams, Brittany Griner, Mo’ne Davis to get the honor.
The 37-year-old became the first paid female assistant coach in NBA history after retiring from the WNBA after 16 seasons, eight with San Antonio and eight with New York.
ESPN said that Hammon understands that it doesn’t matter where you were born, raised or what others tell you. What really matters is what you tell yourself in the end. While she was recovering from an ACL injury, she was shadowing the team because she already knew what she wanted to do after playing. No matter what the doubters may think.
“I’ve heard every reason why I shouldn’t be successful. And yet, you just take that all in,” Hammon told ESPN’s Doris Burke. “I always say you should be very careful with the voices you listen to. And my closest voices have always told me, “You can.””
Hammon was a seven-time WNBA All-Star and was named one of the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time in 2011, she ranks seventh in league history in points. and fourth in assists.
Hammon has always said she has wanted to coach and if she continues to learn and make herself an even better assistant, we may see an even bigger historic move in the near future.