Editor’s note: Last of a five-part series on Colorado basketball icons. Today: Becky Hammon
By definition, trailblazers don’t take traditional routes.
The resistance, in the form of obstacles shirked and ceilings shattered, is what makes Becky Hammon’s story special. To get to where she’s at now, as the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history, Hammon had to carve her own path.
The unassuming point guard from Rapid City, South Dakota didn’t have any major college programs interested in her. Despite her heady play and gifted ability to finish at the rim – born of hours shooting on the weathered hoop in her driveway – she had a huge disadvantage standing at 5-foot-6.