Biography of Becky Hammon

Rebecca Lynn Hammon (born March 11, 1977), is a Women’s National Basketball Association player who plays for the New York Liberty. Hammon, a native of Rapid City, South Dakota, was a college standout at Colorado State University.

However, her comparatively short height left her overlooked in the 1999 WNBA draft. Signed to the New York Liberty, she had a surprisingly solid rookie season statistically backing up starting point guard Teresa Weatherspoon. Her aggressive play at both ends of the court quickly made her a fan favorite among Liberty fans.

After the 2003 season, Hammon took over for Teresa Weatherspoon as the Liberty’s starting point guard and along with Vickie Johnson and Crystal Robinson, became one of the team’s co-captains in 2004.

Vital statistics

Position: Guard
Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
College: Colorado State University, ‘99
Team(s): New York Liberty (WNBA), Tennessee Fury (NWBL), Colorado Chill (NWBL)

Personal

Born to parents Martin and Beverly. Her father was in the United States Coast Guard. After attending Stevens High school in Rapid City, South Dakota, she went on to play basketball at Colorado State University.

Colorado State University

Hammon had a distinguished career at Colorado State. Her prolific scoring made her an All-American as well as Colorado Sportswoman of the Year. She led her team to a 33-3 record in the 1998-1999 season and helped them advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. She was the WAC Mountain Division player of the year for the 1998-1999 season and surpassed University of Utah player Keith Van Horn as the WAC’s all-time leading scorer.

On November 12, 2004, Becky Hammon was inducted into the Colorado State University Sports Hall of Fame. On January 22, 2005, her #25 Colorado State jersey was retired at the Moby Arena.

New York Liberty

Undrafted during her rookie season, Hammon was signed to the WNBA on May 12, 1999 and joined the New York Liberty. While given limited minutes off the bench as a backup to star Teresa Weatherspoon, her aggressive play quickly got her noticed by the fans and coaching staff and she would land a starting role with the team in 2000.

Primarily used to provide instant points off the bench, Hammon finally had a breakout season in 2003, providing much-needed offense for the Liberty. However, her season was cut short by a season-ending knee injury.

When aging star Teresa Weatherspoon was not re-signed by the team that year, Hammon was thrust into the starting point guard role. She would help guide the Liberty to a playoff berth in 2004 amongst very close competition in the Eastern Conference.

On August 5, 2004 Hammon represented the WNBA All-Stars in the WNBA vs. USA basketball game that pitted the 2004 USA Women’s Basketball team against WNBA players at Radio City Music Hall.

Colorado Chill

In 2003, Hammon was signed to the Colorado Chill, a team in the fledgling National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL). She had spent her first season in the NWBL with the Dallas Fury. Hammon led the league in scoring in the 2004 season, averaging 20.2 points per game, but her Colorado team fell short of winning the NWBL title, losing to the Dallas Fury in the championship game.

In 2005, in a rematch of the previous year’s championship game, Hammon and the Chill defeated her old team and won their first NWBL title. Hammon received the game’s Most Valuable Player award with 31 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.