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Aces' Becky Hammon Cites Caitlin Clark Amid Passionate State of the WNBA Speech
Oct 8, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon against the Phoenix Mercury in the first half during game three of the 2025 WNBA Finals at PHX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Aces are WNBA champions for the third time in four years, as they completed a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Mercury in this year's Finals, capped off with a Game 4 win on October 10.

If Aces head coach Becky Hammon didn't already deserve to be considered one of the greatest women's coaches of all time before this championship, she certainly does now. This marks the third WNBA championship the Aces have secured during Hammon's tenure as head coach, which has only been four years so far.

Of course, it helps having one of the greatest women's basketball players of all time in A'ja Wilson, along with potential basketball Hall of Fame inductees like Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young. But Hammon is the perfect fit with this core group of Las Vegas players, which is proven by this team now being considered one of the greatest dynasties in women's basketball history.

Becky Hammon Lists Caitlin Clark When Speaking About State of the WNBA After ces Finals Win

Hammon spoke with the media after Friday's WNBA Finals win. At one point in the postgame presser, Hammon was asked whether she would consider the Aces a dynasty, and where she would rank this group along with the other great teams in WNBA history. She began her answer by giving flowers to the Houston Comets (who won the WNBA's first four league titles from 1997-2000) and the Minnesota Lynx teams that won four championships in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.

She then added, "These [modern] players are bigger, stronger, faster, and more skilled than it was just 10 years ago. So I think those guys who laid the groundwork showed how winning should be done... but the skill set, and the level that these guys are at, to me, it's not comparable," per a YouTube video from the WNBA.

She later added, "That's the sign of any great league, is that it doesn't stay the same. It gets better, and better, and better. And I think these ladies are at the top of the game, and it is the best basketball that the W has ever seen, from top to bottom.

"You have rookies coming in like Paige [Bueckers], and Caitlin [Clark], and Angel [Reese], and they’re ready, now, to compete. And so I just think the quality from top to bottom... These guys are elite skill set."

It was cool to hear Hammon reference Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese when talking about where the WNBA is at right now and where it seems to be going for the future.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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