Stephen A. Smith's Bold Becky Hammon Belief Turns Heads After Aces WNBA Title

But what's perhaps most incredible of all is that Hammon has only been a head coach for four seasons. Therefore, she has won a league championship in 75% of her seasons. That's the sort of success that any basketball franchise — regardless of whether it's the NBA, WNBA, or any other league — should be clamoring to acquire.

Stephen A. Smith Sends Clear Becky Hammon Message After WNBA Finals Win

Hammon spent time coaching with the San Antonio Spurs' NBA franchise before joining the Aces. When she coached San Antonio's Summer League team in 2015, she became the first woman to be a head coach in the Summer League. And when she took over on the Spurs' sideline for the legendary Gregg Popovich after Popovich was ejected during a December 2020 game, Hammon became the first female acting head coach in NBA history.

Hammon joined the Aces one year later, in December 2021. However, sports media personality Stephen A. Smith seems to think Hammon should be welcomed back to the NBA with open arms, which he revealed during an October 11 segment on The Stephen A. Smith Show.

"I'm here to tell you something right now: Becky Hammon, as a head coach for the Las Vegas Aces, I've said this on many occasions, and I'll say it again: She deserves to coach in the NBA," Smith said, per an X post from his show.

"If I owned a team in the NBA, I would not mind giving her a chance as the head coach of my franchise. That woman knows what she's doing," he added. "She has been a staple in basketball, period. And I'm just really big on this, man: I believe men should not be allowed to be head coaches in the WNBA. Because you don't see women coaching in the WNBA.

"If you gonna do that to the women, having a man coach the WNBA team, then a woman should be allowed to be the head coach of a NBA team. That's what I believe," Smith concluded.

Smith's sentiment speaks volumes, as he clearly thinks extremely highly of Hammon's abilities.