(Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
By Sam Britt
San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon became the first woman to serve as head coach of an NBA team during a regular-season game Wednesday night, according to ESPN.
Hammon assumed the role after head coach Greg Popovich was ejected in the second quarter after receiving two technical fouls for arguing with officials.
"He officially pointed at me. That was it. ... That was it," Hammon said. "Said, 'You got 'em,' and that was it. Very Pop-like."
Hammon functioned as head coach for the final two and a half quarters of the Spurs 121-107 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hammon became the first full-time female assistant coach when she was hired by the Spurs in 2014. She had previously served as Spurs’ head coach during the Summer League, the NBA preseason.
She led the way for eight women currently on NBA coaching staffs, according to NBC Sports.
Before becoming a coach Hammon was a six-time WNBA All-Star while playing for the New York Liberty and San Antonio Silver Stars.
"Everybody just gets on board, and it was a great team effort and they're in my ear giving me suggestions and helping with substitutions and whatnot," Hammon said. "So when Pop gets tossed, we all come together and become kind of another team."
Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan praised Hammon in his postgame interview.
"Becky played, and any player who knows the history of women's basketball knows what she meant to the sport," DeRozan said. "You don't think twice about it. She's one of us. When she speaks, we are all ears."
Even the opposition expressed their support for Hammon. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said he believes that Hammon will eventually receive a head coaching position in the NBA. Hammon interviewed for the Indiana Pacers coaching position this past September, according to Yahoo.
"She's been putting in the work, and any time you put in the work you get rewarded with opportunities," LeBron James said. "Tonight was a case where she got to step in and show her work, show her talents and her love for the game, and obviously, what she did as a player, first of all, we all know that. So her mind was able to transfer to our league, and she's been great ever since she got in.”