It’s just really awesome to be rewarded for all your hard work; that people take notice of how I treated my teammates, how I was in my community. — Becky Hammon

I was living my dream as a WNBA player. — Becky Hammon

If you don’t want a female coach, don’t hire one! — Becky Hammon

But, at the end of the day, you live in the world with billions of people, and everyone has a unique upbringing and experience. — Becky Hammon

My whole childhood I grew up wanting to be a professional basketball player. — Becky Hammon

You have those people speaking really good things in your life and it grows and produces fruit later on. But somebody had to initially plant those good seeds. — Becky Hammon

Playing basketball for me is like breathing. — Becky Hammon

I’m up for challenges. I’m up for being outside the box, making tough decisions and challenges… And I’m a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. — Becky Hammon

People ask me all the time, will there ever be a woman player in the NBA? To be honest, no. There are differences. The guys are too big, too strong and that’s just the way it is. — Becky Hammon

I just think there’s a real art in listening. I need to listen. — Becky Hammon

Let’s just face it: The average girl is not 6–3. I look very average. — Becky Hammon

I was always smaller and slower than everybody else, so I had to figure out other ways to be successful. Some people can survive on their athleticism; I had to survive on my brain. — Becky Hammon

Hope and encouragement, especially hope, is probably one of the greatest things you can give another person. — Becky Hammon

But I think in the midst of working, you can’t get too crazy serious. — Becky Hammon

If you could play in the Olympics or sit on your couch and watch at home, what would you do? It was that simple. This is basketball; it’s not war. — Becky Hammon

I feel like I’ve had 20 years of experience at a very high level, if you throw in college, playing overseas, I’ve played in hundreds and hundreds of games. — Becky Hammon

Your mind is just constantly moving, thinking of different scenarios, not only on your team but their team too, trying to figure out things they are doing. — Becky Hammon

It’s 2015, and I’m the first female coach in any of the major sports. That’s ridiculous! — Becky Hammon

I… scout, I’m in all the film sessions, I’m in all the coaches meetings, I travel… I’m in on everything. — Becky Hammon

But it’s been a learning experience; learning the NBA, learning the travel schedule and certain coaches, their styles, what they like to run out of timeouts, personnel, tendencies. — Becky Hammon

The greatest thing about sports, to me, is just the crossover into everyday life. — Becky Hammon

It’s not that I set out to say, ‘I’m going be the first assistant coach in the NBA.’ That really–it was never my intent. It just kind of happened very naturally. — Becky Hammon

It’s one thing to watch the NBA, but when you have to be there for every film session, every practice, it’s a grind. It’s a lot of hard work. — Becky Hammon

Nothing in my life has really ever been easy. I’ve always been someone who did it uphill. — Becky Hammon

You shouldn’t get into coaching unless you care about the people you’re leading. — Becky Hammon

I had a fantastic career. I loved being a professional athlete. — Becky Hammon

For me, I think it’s such a notable point to make that a leader had to believe, a leader had to see that potential. — Becky Hammon

I can’t open doors that aren’t open. But if a door opens, I would be happy to walk through. — Becky Hammon