Becky Hammon

In the spring of 1999, Becky Hammon and her backcourt counterpart Katie Cronin led the Colorado State Rams to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, a first for the women’s basketball program at Colorado State. A few months later, Hammon – a three-time All-America and Colorado State’s all-time leading scorer, as well as being one of the greatest players ever to come out of South Dakota – was not selected in the May 1999 WNBA Draft. Hammon – scrappy and skilled, yet undersized and underappreciated – soon signed a contract with the New York Liberty. Underestimated? Never again. Hammon played 16 seasons, split evenly between New York and San Antonio as a Silver Star. She was a six-time All-Star, led the WNBA in assists per game in 2007, and earned four nods to the All-League team. Four times Hammon helped a franchise to the WNBA Finals and six times she led the league in free throw percentage. By the end of her career, Hammon was honored as one of the WNBA’s all-time greats earning her spot on the Top 15 in 2011, the Top 20 in 2016, and the W25 in 2021.