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.

“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.”

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.

Rose Lavelle is hoping to return to the field soon. 

The 28-year-old midfielder has been sidelined with a lower leg injury since the Gold Cup in early march. Since then, she has yet to play for new club Gotham FC in the NWSL. She also missed a potential USWNT appearance at the SheBelieves Cup in April, where senior team newcomer Jaedyn Shaw saw success assuming Lavelle's role in the attacking midfield. 

At the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee media showcase on Monday, Lavelle told reporters that she’s doing well and hopes to be back soon.

"I’m doing good — I’m hoping I’ll be back in the next couple weeks," Lavelle said. "It’s frustrating to start the year off with an injury, just because I feel like you come off preseason and you’re revving to go, so it’s so annoying."

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Lavelle is still looking to compete for one of just 18 Olympic roster spots. When healthy, she ranks as one of the national team’s most trusted assets, but considering this most recent injury, her health is an obvious concern. Faced with an onslaught of experienced competitors and young talent, incoming USWNT coach Emma Hayes will have some big decisions to make when selecting the Paris-bound squad — a reality Lavelle seems to be taking in stride as she works to regain full fitness.

"We have so many special players, we have so much depth, and so many different weapons to utilize on and off the bench," Lavelle said. "Unfortunately that means really good players are going to get left off, too. And I think for all of us, it’s just about being ready for whatever role is given to us, embracing that, and looking to put it into a collective picture so that we can go into the Olympics ready to go."

Stanford has found its replacement for legendary head women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer in associate head coach Kate Paye.

The Cardinal confirmed the hiring on Tuesday via a press release. Paye was largely expected to replace the longtime head coach, as the college mentioned they were still negotiating Paye's contract when they announced VanDerveer's retirement.

In Tuesday's statement, Paye reported that she was "humbled" to have been tapped to lead the women’s program.

"Stanford University has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember and I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead its women’s basketball program," Paye said. "I’d first like to thank Tara, who has played such a pivotal role in my career for her friendship and guidance. It’s not what she’s done, but how she’s done it, that has had such a profound impact upon me."

A Woodside, California native, Paye played under VanDerveer from 1992 to 1995, taking home a national title her freshman year. After graduation, Paye briefly joined San Diego State as an assistant coach before making her professional debut with the ABL's Seattle Reign in 1996. After finishing her playing career with the WNBA's Seattle Storm, she joined the team’s coaching staff in 2007 and has been with the organization ever since, picking up another national title win — this time as associate head coach — in 2021. Paye's brother John played quarterback for Stanford from 1983 to 1986, while also serving as a point guard on the basketball team.

In her own response, VanDerveer said that she was "grateful" that Stanford picked Paye to follow in her stead. Last week, the decorated coach stated that this year would be her last after 38 seasons at the helm and three national titles under her belt.

"She has long been ready for this opportunity and is the perfect leader for Stanford at this time of immense change in college athletics," VanDerveer noted. "Kate was the choice for this job and I am confident she will achieve great success as head coach."

The 2024 WNBA Draft has officially concluded, leaving the newly minted rookie class facing a tough road ahead.

Only 144 roster slots are available throughout the league’s 12 teams, the reason why the players are sometimes referred to as the “144.” And Monday’s draft picks are set to join a large group of established players competing for those same roster spots, from seasoned veterans to young athletes determined to prove their value on the court.

Last year, just 15 of the league’s 36 draftees made it onto their drafting team's opening-day squad.

In reality, there are oftentimes fewer than 144 spots available, as not every team maxes out their roster. Per the league's CBA, each team roster must maintain a minimum standard of 11 players, but those lists can include players out with injuries or on other forms of leave. Players can also be assigned to short-term hardship contracts, something waived players must be prepared for at any point during the season.

Earlier this week, Laeticia Amihere — a 2022 national champion with South Carolina who currently plays for the Atlanta Dream — took to TikTok to provide some insight into the WNBA training camp process. 

"You can either get drafted on Draft Night, or you can get signed by a team," she said. "Once that happens, you go to training camp literally like two weeks later... Basically everybody's got to try out. There's 12 roster spots, and there's like 18 people at the at the trial."

@laeticiaamihere Replying to @dantavius.washington #wnba #draft ♬ original sound - Laeticia Amihere

Amihere also had an important point to make: Getting cut does not signify a player’s abilities. 

"If you get cut after training camp, that does not mean you're not good," she said. "That does not mean that player sucks, don't stop supporting that player. Literally, there's so many reasons somebody can get cut."

"If you guys look at the best players in the league, most of them have bounced around teams," she added. "And I promise you it is not a bad thing, it's just how the league is."

Things, however gradually, are changing. With Golden State's WNBA team scheduled to launch in time for the 2025 season, league expansion is just around the corner. On Monday, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league is aiming to grow to 16 teams by 2028. But by then, it might be too little too late for the generation of talent emerging from an increasingly competitive NCAA system.

Monday night’s WNBA draft added to the nationwide uptick in record-breaking women's sports viewership, pulling in 2.45 million viewers throughout the nearly two-hour broadcast and peaking at 3.09 million, according to an ESPN release. 

That number shatters the previous draft viewership record — 601,000 in 2004 — which was fueled primarily by then-No. 1 pick Diana Taurasi entering the league after UConn's historic three-peat March Madness performance.  

The 2023 WNBA draft drew 572,000 viewers, the most for any televised WNBA event since 2.74 million tuned in to NBC for a Memorial Day matchup between the New York Liberty and Houston Comets back in 2000.

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While many came to watch Caitlin Clark get drafted No. 1 overall, it’s important to note that viewership didn’t take a massive dip after the superstar shooter left the stage. The numbers show that a bulk of the audience stuck around to watch the remainder of the show, making 2024's event not just the most-viewed WNBA draft in history, but also the most-viewed WNBA program to ever air on ESPN platforms.

Draft Day's popularity is yet another sign indicating an expected rise in WNBA regular season viewership. Clark and Iowa's NCAA tournament showdown with the Chicago Sky-bound Kamilla Cardoso's South Carolina side drew a record 18.7 million to ABC's Sunday afternoon broadcast. Banking on this trend, 36 of Indiana's upcoming 40 games are set to be shown on national television. In-person ticket sales are also soaring, leading the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces to re-home their matchup with the Fever to a venue that can accommodate some 6,000 more fans.