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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.

‘The Late Sub’ Digs Into Angel City FC’s Red-Hot 2025 NWSL Start

Angel City winger Alyssa Thompson celebrates a goal during a 2025 NWSL match.
With three goals in four matches, Alyssa Thompson is leading Angel City's young attack. (Harry How/NWSL via Getty Images)

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins examines Angel City FC's early success in the young 2025 NWSL season.

Off to an undefeated 2025 campaign, a stat only the 2024 championship-winning Orlando Pride and powerhouse Kansas City Current also boast, 2022 expansion side Angel City launched itself into the early contender conversation after missing the NWSL Playoffs entirely last season.

Watkins digs into the LA club, chatting through the team's star-studded formation, its early days, as well as its young core, highlighted by star sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson — all while weighing if the squad is truly ready to level up into the league's title-seeking echelon.

Angel City is beginning to see some payoff from its early developmental strategy, with Watkins pointing out that taking winger Alyssa Thompson straight out of high school is now providing major returns.

"She's got three goals in four games in 2025, she's the second youngest NWSL player to hit 10 goals and 10 assists in her career," noted Watkins. "Teams are having trouble accounting for her despite knowing that she is their offensive focal point at this moment."

That said, even with Thompson's prowess, Watkins does expect the club's hot start to cool, though she does predict a 2025 NWSL Playoff berth for the LA team.

"They are getting through on moments of brilliance, on chemistry and mental fortitude," noted Watkins. "It's a long season, and those kinds of things can start to slip as you get tired and other teams get used to the way that you play."

About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on the USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.

Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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MLB Trailblazer Kim Ng Named AUSL Commissioner

Miami Marlins GM Kim Ng smiles before a 2023 MLB game.
Ex-MLB GM Kim Ng will serve as AUSL’s first commissioner. (Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) hired former MLB executive Kim Ng as its first-ever commissioner on Wednesday, tapping into Ng’s 21 years of top-level experience ahead of the league’s inaugural 2025 season.

After becoming the youngest assistant general manager in baseball history for the New York Yankees in 1998, Ng inked another line into the record books as the first woman GM in any major US men’s sports league in November 2020, when she took over the front office for MLB’s Miami Marlins.

Her three-season tenure in Miami culminated in a 2023 playoff appearance — the Marlins' first in 20 years.

Ng's pivot to softball is a homecoming for the trailblazing 56-year-old exec, who played NCAA softball before breaking down MLB barriers.

"I think after 30-plus years in the business, I also owe it to myself to do some things that I hadn't necessarily had the opportunity to do in the past," Ng told The Athletic about her decision to join AUSL. "And this is, for me, it's a passion."

Prior to her commissioner appointment, Ng served as a senior advisor for AUSL, helping to develop the league into existence from a landscape full of growing parity at the college level, yet few viable pro opportunities.

"Knowing what an established, mature system of governance looks like, I think will be really helpful in establishing this league," Ng added.

Athletes Unlimited softball player Rachel Garcia warms up before a 2024 game.
AUSL offers NCAA alums like ex-UCLA star pitcher Rachel Garcia the chance to go pro in softball. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

AUSL takes the field with 2025 tour

Launching on June 7th — immediately following the 2025 NCAA Women's College World Series — each of the AUSL's four inaugural teams will play 24 games across a seven-week season.

The league's 2025 debut will function as a tour, with regular-season games played across eight different cities before two additional locations are added for the first-ever AUSL All-Star Cup in August.

Each city is auditioning to become one of six permanent markets for the league, which will transition to a traditional location-based set-up in 2026.

PWHL Reveals 2025 Draft Details, Will Welcome New Pros in June

2024 PWHL Draft No. 1 pick Sarah Fillier skates in a 2025 New York Sirens game.
Princeton alum Sarah Fillier was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft. (Troy Parla/Getty Images)

The PWHL dropped its 2025 Draft details on Tuesday, with the league’s third-annual entry draft set to take over Ottawa, Canada — home of the Charge — on June 24th.

Eligible NCAA standouts and other pro hockey prospects have until May 8th to declare for selection, following the PWHL’s May 3rd regular-season finale.

Notably, the second-year league follows the Gold Plan when it comes to determining draft order. Under this system, teams eliminated from the playoffs have an incentive to continue hunting wins, as franchises who amass more points post-elimination secure higher draft picks.

The New York Sirens and 2024 champions Minnesota Frost currently sit below the postseason cutoff line, meaning both teams could snag the most draft capital when the league returns from international break later this month.

Team USA's Abbey Murphy skates during a 2023 game against Canada.
Team USA's Abbey Murphy is the likely 2025 PWHL Draft No. 1 pick, unless she returns to the NCAA. (Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)

NCAA stars likely to top 2025 PWHL Draft selections

Last year, the New York Sirens selected Princeton star Sarah Fillier as the overall No. 1 pick, with the rookie forward having an immediate impact in her debut pro season.

Fillier currently ranks second in individual points scored on the 2024/25 PWHL stat sheet, trailing only US hockey legend and Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight.

As for who will join Fillier and Minnesota Frost forward Taylor Heise — the inaugural 2023 PWHL Draft No. 1 pick — atop this year's draft, two NCAA standouts are likely contenders.

Should she declare, University of Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy is the projected 2025 No. 1 pick.

However, Murphy could return to the Golden Gophers for a final NCAA season following her international duty with the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship semifinals-bound Team USA.

Should Murphy defer her pro debut, 2024/25 NCAA MVP Casey O'Brien is the likely top selectee, having already declared for the draft.

The Wisconsin captain wrapped up her NCAA campaign as this season's leading scorer, claiming 88 points on 26 goals and 62 assists en route to this year’s national championship — the third NCAA title of her college career.

LSU Hunts Repeat Title as 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championships Kick Off

UCLA gymnastics star Jordan Chiles poses during her balance beam routine at a 2025 NCAA meet.
Jordan Chiles’s UCLA squad is hunting their first NCAA title since 2018. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Eight top squads are edging closer to Saturday’s 2025 NCAA gymnastics championships team trophy, with the pivotal semifinal round kicking off on Thursday afternoon.

No. 2-seed Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Missouri, and No. 11 Alabama will hit the mat first, before 2024 winners and the 2025 bracket's No. 1-seed LSU goes to work to defend their title against No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 8 Michigan State.

The top two teams from each of Thursday's semifinals will advance to compete for the national title on Saturday.

LSU's Haleigh Bryant does a split-leap during a December 2024 gymnastics exhibition meet.
LSU's Haleigh Bryant will defend her 2024 all-around title on Thursday. (Reagan Cotten/University Images via Getty Images)

Semifinal meets will crown individual NCAA champions

First, however, five individual NCAA trophies will be bestowed on Thursday night, as the semifinal meets will determine the 2025 all-around and event champions.

In addition to the athletes on the eight qualifying teams, four all-around competitors and 16 event specialists will join the race for solo NCAA hardware, with each earning an invite as the top performer in their respective category at one of the sport's four Regional tournaments.

These individual contenders will follow a qualified team's rotation schedule during their semifinal meet.

Leading the all-around pack is LSU star and 2024 individual champ Haleigh Bryant, though she'll face stiff competition in her bid for a back-to-back championship.

Standing in Bryant's path are Oregon State's Jade Carey, Arkansas's Joscelyn Roberson, Denver's Madison Ulrich, and Washington's Mary McDonough, alongside qualified team athletes like UCLA's Jordan Chiles — Carey’s 2024 Olympics teammate.

Bryant will also defend her shared 2024 vault title, though her co-champion on that event, Cal's Mya Lauzon, will instead compete for beam and floor hardware this week.

All other 2024 event winners are also back, with LSU's Konnor McClain and Florida's Leanne Wong seeking to repeat on beam and floor, respectively. Wong will also hunt another trophy on bars, alongside last year's co-champ, Utah's Grace McCallum.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championships

The first 2025 NCAA gymnastics semifinal starts at 4:30 PM ET on Thursday, followed by the second semi at 9 PM ET.

Live coverage of both semifinal meets will air on ESPN2.

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