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Reigning National Basketball Association (NBA) champion San Antonio Spurs always seem to be ahead of everyone else.
The team announced Wednesday (KST) that it has hired retired female star Becky Hammon as assistant coach, making her the first woman with a coaching position in an NBA regular season.
Hammon, a six-time Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) All Star, announced her retirement last month after 13 seasons.
She is the seventh-highest points scorer in WNBA history (5,809), fourth in assists (1,687) and sixth in games (445). She spent the past eight seasons with the San Antonio Stars.
"I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told NBA.com.
"Having observed her working with our team this past season, I'm confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs."
Popovich had hinted that the Spurs might add a woman to their bench earlier this year. Asked in May if women could coach men, Popovich said: "I don't see why not. There shouldn't be any limitations. It's about talent and the ability to do things. It's not about what your sex is or your race or anything else."
Hammon's appointment came weeks after another retired female hoopster, Natalie Nakase, became the NBA's first female assistant coach, sitting on the bench for the Los Angeles Clippers' summer exhibition league team.
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