How do you recognize a friend? Maybe just a phone call away when you need it most. This can be confirmed Becky Hammon, double WNBA champion at the head of the Aces. While her players missed their start to the season, and they suffered three defeats in a row for the first time in five years, she received a call from… Gregg Popovich !
“It’s funny because when we were together in San Antonio, there was a joke going around. We told ourselves that no one calls us or texts us when we lose” remembers the Las Vegas coach. “So, I picked up the phone, and he said, 'Hey, how are you doing? I'm just calling you to make you laugh because I know no one is going to call you.' »
Mission accomplished !
Before losing last night against Liberty, the Aces had found their way to victory. It was the day after this phone call, and Beky Hammon assures that hearing Coach Pop' did her good.
“He made me laugh, mission accomplished”she says. “It’s true that no one calls you when you’re feeling bad. So that was the purpose of his appeal. He just wanted to know where I was mentally. Then we discussed the different buttons to press. I know he’s always a phone call away.”
10 months ago, during her Hall Of Fame induction speech, Becky Hammon made Gregg Popovich cry by paying tribute to him.
“Pop, I'm not going to look at you. You are a man of principle and excellence. I knew you weren't trying to be brave when you hired me, but you did something no one in professional sports has ever done.” she recalled. “You demonstrate excellence, you demand excellence and you show how to become excellent, in your daily routine and in the way you work. You gave me courage with a phone call as I was getting ready to coach my first Summer League team in 2015. You told me, “Be yourself, you’ll be great.” You changed the trajectory of my life, and so many other girls and young women. »
