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Becky Hammon rises above doubters to win WNBA championship

Becky Hammon is the first coach in WNBA history to win a title in her debut season. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — It’s hard to imagine not betting on Becky Hammon.

She’s been successful at every level of basketball: As a high schooler in South Dakota, in college at Colorado State, in the WNBA, and as an NBA assistant for the Spurs.

But at every step, she was overlooked.

When it came time for college recruiting, Hammon was referred to as “small and slow.” Then, after a record-setting career at Colorado State, she went undrafted in the WNBA in 1999. She was even passed over for a spot on Team USA in 2008 after earning a multitude of WNBA accolades.

“I’m used to people not picking me,” she said. “I don’t know if you’re aware.”

Hammon has proved doubters wrong every time, and yet when she was ready to move on from being a Spurs assistant and become a head coach, the NBA made the same mistake.

For Hammon, it didn’t matter that the league she’d been successful in for eight years didn’t want her to make the next step.

She was ready and in search of the correct team. NBA or WNBA, it didn’t matter.

That team was the Aces.

“I felt they had the talent to do it, and I felt that I could build the relationships and build the culture in the right way for us to put ourselves in a position to be able to win a championship,” she said.

In her first year at the helm, Hammon did just that, leading the Las Vegas Aces to the franchise’s first WNBA championship in Connecticut on Sunday.

As A’ja Wilson grabbed the last rebound of Game 4 — a 78-71 victory over the Sun to clinch the title — Chelsea Gray turned and ran toward the Las Vegas bench.

They jumped, they screamed, they hugged.

And in the middle of the mayhem was Hammon.

After being handed a 2022 WNBA championship hat, Hammon tried numerous times to put it on, but every time there was another hug, another congratulation, another excited exchange that took precedence. She walked behind Riquna Williams, who gave her team a major lift with 17 points off the bench and five 3-pointers, including a couple of daggers to close out the win. Hammon gave Williams a playful shove and a wide smile before taking a second to put on her championship shirt.

Finally, as Gray, the Finals MVP, approached her coach, Hammon threw the hat on backwards and wrapped Gray in a bear hug.

As the team slowly settled down and commissioner Cathy Engelbert readied herself to present the trophy, Hammon pushed her hair back, detangling it from her hoop earrings, and put the hat on for good.

Officially crowning herself a champion.

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Hammon embraces 2022 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson on the court Sunday. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

“When I took the job in December, I thought when I started kind of breaking down their rosters that I could do something with it,” Hammon said after the game, hair soaked with champagne. “I had a vision of what I wanted to do with this team. Even when it got a little rocky, we stuck to it. We hit a kind of stay-down-in-the-dirt-or-get-up moment right after All-Star. As usual, they chose to stand up. We have tremendous leadership in that locker room. We have tremendous professionals, but I’ll say it again: They are tremendous people.”

With players like Wilson, Gray and Kelsey Plum, the Aces were primed to win a title. They just needed the right coach to push them over the top.

“It’s about putting these ladies in a position to win a championship,” Hammon said. “That’s been my focus. That’s why I took the job.”

There are two things the Aces have become known for over the last few years: their exceptional play and their eccentric personalities.

Take Sunday for example. Wilson was twerking in the locker room before she and Gray took their champagne bottles to the podium. Wilson took sips between questions and joked that Aces fans needed to do shots before coming to the celebration parade — kids, she added, should do shots of ginger ale. Midway through the press conference, Plum made an appearance, dancing with a boombox on her shoulder.

The weight of the moment heightened the celebratory atmosphere, but the Aces’ reactions were not far off from their everyday personalities.

They walk the line between fun and professional at every moment, and they needed a coach who could do the same.

“There is a light-heartedness,” Sydney Colson said of Hammon. “When we are approaching games, in a series we are obviously locked in, but she allows people to be themselves. And it’s a lot of fun. She meshes well with this team. Some coaches try and make a team fit into a box, but she allows a lot of freedom.”

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(Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

From the very beginning, Hammon took great care to learn about her players. She wanted to win a championship with the Aces, and to do that, Hammon knew she needed to start by establishing connections.

The first-year head coach didn’t waste any time with that task.

Jackie Young was in Australia playing during the WNBA offseason when she got a call from Hammon.

“Before we even met in person, we had a phone call and she’s talking about being a relationship person,” Young said. “I think she’s done a great job of developing those relationships with all of her players. I really liked that about her.”

And when the Aces reported to practice for the first time, Hammon’s first impression remained true.

“She has her players’ best interest at heart,” Colson said. “She is the picture of a player’s coach.”

All the while, she was preparing the Aces for their ultimate goal. Sometimes that meant bringing a sense of humor to the locker room. Other times, it meant lighting a fire beneath her team.

Hammon did that at halftime of Game 1, after the Sun had gone on a 21-9 run to take a four-point lead at the break. And her team responded, winning 67-64.

Then, after a Game 3 defeat in Connecticut, in which Hammon said her team got out-played in every facet, the Aces coach chose to say nothing at all.

Instead, she let her team sit with the loss.

“I’ve got a ticked off crew in there,” she said, motioning to the locker room after the game. “I’m not going to have to say much.”

Once again, her team responded. This time by winning a decisive Game 4 to secure a WNBA title — another bullet point on the list of Becky Hammon’s great accomplishments.

After being overlooked and underappreciated once again, Hammon doesn’t have a message for her doubters.

She doesn’t waste time thinking about them.

“My journey is not by mistake,” she said. “Every hard thing that I’ve gone through has built something in me that I’ve needed down the road, and even though it sucks in the moment to not to be picked or to get hurt or whatever it might be, the hard stuff builds stuff in you that’s necessary for life and you’ll use it down the road.”

On Sunday, she used the hard stuff to bring Las Vegas a championship.

And for all the doubters she met along the way, there was one person who always believed in Becky Hammon.

“For me, it’s not really about proving other people wrong,” she said. “It’s about proving myself right.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Nike Drops Signature Logo for WNBA Star Caitlin Clark, Teases October Collection

WNBA star Caitlin Clark's new signature Nike logo features interlocking letter Cs.
Nike revealed the signature logo for WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark this week. (Nike Basketball)

The signature Nike logo for Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has arrived, with the sportswear giant revealing the WNBA star's branding on Monday ahead of a planned collection drop in October.

According to Nike's press release, the logo's interwoven letter Cs "reflect Caitlin's magnetic connection with fans around the globe."

Meanwhile, a smaller, central C represents how Clark developed her game "from the inside out."

"To me, this is more than just a logo, it's a dream come true," Clark said in a statement. "People always talk about leaving your mark on the game — and this is another way I can do that."

After signing a record $28 million deal with the sportswear company in 2024, Clark joins other WNBA superstars like Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu in getting the Nike signature treatment.

Following an initial logo collection that includes T-shirts, hoodies, shorts, and pants, Clark will drop a signature Nike collection with both apparel and her debut signature shoe sometime next year.

"At Nike, we've always drawn inspiration not only from the world's greatest athletes but also from those who elevate the spirit of sport itself," said Ann Miller, Nike's Global Sports Marketing EVP. "Caitlin exemplifies both."

How to buy the Nike x Caitlin Clark logo collection

A navy blue and yellow Clark logo T-shirt will hit North American shelves on September 1st, with the rest of the line following on October 1st.

All items will be available to purchase online.

LPGA Tour Stars Tee Off at 2nd Annual FM Championship

Nelly Korda walks the green at the 2025 CPKC Women's Open.
Former world No. 1 Nelly Korda is still searching for her first LPGA win of the 2025 season. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

The LPGA Tour is taking over New England, as the second iteration of the FM Championship tees off from Norton, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

The four-day tournament will feature 35 of the world's Top 40-ranked players, all shooting for a piece of the $4.1 million total purse — the 2025 LPGA Tour's largest non-major payday.

Big names in search of a bounce-back performance headline the field, led by former No. 1 Nelly Korda, with the now-No. 2 US star still in pursuit of her first win of the 2025 season.

"Some of my stats are maybe better than even last year — it's just crazy," Korda said last week, commenting on her recent struggles. "That's just golf. By this time last year, I had six wins under my belt and [now] my stats are better, and I have zero wins."

Newly minted No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul will also make an appearance, as will 2024 FM Championship winner No. 10 Haeran Ryu.

Rookie phenom Lottie Woad is also in the mix, with the No. 18 English golfer determined to reclaim her winnings ways and shake off a missed cut at last week's 2025 CPKC Women's Open.

How to watch LPGA stars at the FM Championship

The 2025 FM Championship tees off at 7 AM ET on Thursday, and coverage of the four-day competition will air daily at 3 PM ET on the Golf Channel.

Defending NCAA Champions UNC Lose Top College Soccer Ranking After Upsets

The UNC Tar Heels huddle during the 2024 NCAA championship match.
Reigning champs UNC suffered two upset losses to start the 2025 NCAA soccer season. (Grant Halverson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The UNC Tar Heels are having a rough start to the 2025 NCAA soccer season, logging two upset losses in the first two weeks of competition to plummet from their No. 1 spot in the preseason rankings.

North Carolina stumbled right out of the gate, becoming the first reigning national champs to drop their season opener in 23 years with their 2-0 fall to Tennessee, before the Tar Heels added a second 2-0 loss to Georgia last Thursday.

As a result, a precipitous poll drop have the once top-ranked Tar Heels now sitting at No. 22 in the nation, with Stanford rising behind four straight wins to take the UNC-vacated No. 1 spot.

Meanwhile, North Carolina's SEC conquerers earned big boosts: Georgia made their season rankings debut at No. 13 this week, and a four-match opening winning streak saw Tennessee skyrocket to No. 2.

Tennessee's early-season success also includes a second massive win, as the preseason-unranked Vols defeated 2022 champion and then-No. 4 UCLA 1-0 last Wednesday to prove that their shocking opening upset was far from a fluke.

Redshirt junior forward Shae O'Rourke is leading Tennessee's charge, netting five goals across their four games — including scoring all three against the two recent NCAA champs.

As for UNC, the Tar Heels have time to right the ship under newly permanent head coach Damon Nahas, with the team looking to log some wins over lopsided opponents before their next ranked matchup against fellow ACC foe No. 24 Virginia Tech on September 11th.

W7F Moves $5 Million Women’s Soccer Tournament to Florida

Bayern Munich midfielder Linda Dallmann lifts the first-ever W7F trophy in May 2025.
The second seven-a-side W7F tournament will take place in Fort Lauderdale this December. (Gualter Fatia/World Sevens Football via Getty Images)

Global seven-a-side soccer venture World Sevens Football (W7F) is on its way Stateside, announcing Tuesday that the second-ever W7F tournament will kick off in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, later this year.

After a successful debut in Portugal last May, the eight-team competition will put another $5 million purse on the line when it takes over Beyond Bancard Field, the home of the USL Super League's Fort Lauderdale United FC from December 5th through the 7th.

While European clubs — including eventual champions Bayern Munich — dominated the inaugural W7F field, the tournament is now looking to platform teams based in North and South America for its US edition.

Like the first iteration, W7F will again team up with media partner DAZN for live match coverage from Florida.

W7F boasts a Player Advisory Council that includes the USWNT's two-time World Cup champions Tobin Heath and Kelley O'Hara, plus a trio of former international stars — England defender Anita Asante, longtime Sweden captain and midfielder Caroline Seger, and France defender Laura Georges — all of whom are also shareholders in the upstart.

"We saw undeniable proof of concept [in Portugal]. Now, we're building on that momentum," W7F head of football Adrian Jacob said in Tuesday's press release. "This isn't just a tournament — it's a movement, this time in America, where women's soccer has unprecedented momentum."

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