The coaching fraternity in the WNBA still carries weight, and Becky Hammon made it clear she wasn’t happy with the New York Liberty’s decision to part ways with Sandy Brondello.
Speaking before Game 2 of the Aces–Fever semifinal, Hammon called the move puzzling, pointing out that Brondello had just guided New York to its first-ever championship last year. She argued that one down season shouldn’t erase years of success.
“If you know you have a good coach, you keep a good coach,” Hammon said. “It doesn’t mean you win every year, you know. There can be rough years in between, but you continue to stay competitive, and you invest in what you have. You invest in your leadership.”
Hammon even compared the Liberty’s decision to the stability of Cheryl Reeve’s tenure in Minnesota, as well as the constant turnover Devin Booker faced early in his NBA career.
“I mean, you look at, you know, poor Devin Booker. How many head coaches did that guy had? You know, it’s just hard to reboot every year. Now, I know it seems like the coaches is the easiest thing to remove, but if you got a good coach, you keep it him or her.”
Brondello leaves as the Liberty’s most successful coach. Across four seasons, she went 107-53 in the regular season with a 66.9% win rate, reached the Finals twice, and delivered the franchise’s first banner in 2024.
“It’s out of control”: Becky Hammon takes aim at officiating
Becky Hammon wasn’t only frustrated with front-office decisions this week. After Las Vegas evened the series with a 90-68 win over Indiana, she voiced concerns about how physical the playoffs have become.
“The physicality’s out of control for sure,” Hammon said. “You can bump and grab a wide receiver in the NFL for those first five yards, but you can do it in the W for the whole half court. You put two hands on somebody, it should be an automatic foul. The freedom of movement? There’s no freedom. I’m not saying we’re not fouling, too. I’m not saying that. I’m saying it’s out of control.”
Her comments echo frustrations from across the league. Last year, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve blasted officials after a pivotal Finals loss to New York. Hammon, who spent seven years as an assistant with the Spurs, added that NBA rules simply wouldn’t allow the same level of contact.
“Most of my assistants come from the NBA, and they’re like this does not fly in the NBA,” she said. “There would be fights. We just have very well-mannered women that can get to the next play.”
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
