The Bucks Should Hire Becky Hammon As Their New Head Coach

The Milwaukee Bucks, somewhat surprisingly, fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after a disappointing first-round exit in the postseason.

Budenholzer had been at the helm in Milwaukee for five seasons, having won 69.3% of the games he coached. He also played a big role in helping Giannis Antetokounmpo reach his current status as one the league’s best players, and a generational superstar.

With Budenholzer now out, the Bucks are looking for a replacement, with Nick Nurse – the former man in charge of the Toronto Raptors – named as a candidate.

Nurse is known widely as being tactically strong and inventive, but questions remain about his ability to connect with players on a personal level, which has become an increasingly crucial part of the job.

The Bucks remain invested in trying to win a second championship, and as such, they’ll need a coach who has a good grasp of the tactical and the ability to connect with players.

As such, they should turn to Becky Hammon.

The former WNBA superstar is coming off a year in which she helmed the Las Vegas Aces to both the WNBA championship and the Commissioner’s Cup championship – winning Coach Of the Year in the process. Before that, she spent eight years with the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant to Gregg Popovich, arguably the best head coach in the history of basketball.

Hammon is widely known as a coach who quickly earns the respect of her players. Pau Gasol, who will be inducted into the Hall Of Fame later this year, has been a vocal supporter of Hammon, as the two worked together with the Spurs.

In 2018, Gasol wrote a letter, via The Players’ Tribune, where he underlined Hammon’s abilities:

“I’ve won two championships … I’ve played with some of the best players of this generation … and I’ve played under two of the sharpest minds in the history of sports, in Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. And I’m telling you: Becky Hammon can coach. I’m not saying she can coach pretty well. I’m not saying she can coach enough to get by. I’m not saying she can coach almost at the level of the NBA’s male coaches. I’m saying: Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball. Period.“

It’s been five years since that letter, and in that time Hammon has only gotten better as a coach, and found her voice to an even bigger extent.

Furthermore, Hammon has spent considerable time in Europe, having played in both Spain and Italy, which provides her with unique insights into how European players work on a mental level. And giving that Antetokounmpo is, by far, the most important player on the Bucks, as well as European, there’s added incentive in hiring her, as she will understand how he’s wired.

The obstacle in front of Hammon – her gender – is one that shouldn’t ever have been an obstacle, and the Bucks have a chance to right that continuous wrong, while also installing a high-quality head coach in one fell swoop.

Whatever argument a certain subsection of fans wish to make against Hammon, such as her lack of head coaching experience, it’s important to remember that the NBA operates differently. Steve Nash was hired by the Brooklyn Nets despite having no prior experience in the coaching field. Back in 2008, the Chicago Bulls did the same when they hired Vinny Del Negro.

Hammon has a nine-year head start on the coaching front on both of them, including a ring from the Aces last year as the head coach. There’s no logic in applying a filter of expectations for Hammon, when previous coaches have been hired on what could only be gut feelings by executives.

Arguments against Hammon have generally always run low on validity, and as she keeps proving herself, and constantly reaffirming what Gasol wrote about her half a decade ago, it’s becoming increasingly impossible to find any argument against her at all.

Even the idea that Hammon somehow needs to cross off items on a list before being qualified is nonsense, especially when you consider how many coaches, who have failed in the NBA, get another chance down the road for reasons that are never quite clear.

Setting the bar unreasonably high for Hammon, and women in the NBA coaching ranks generally, is a chapter in basketball history that should have ended long ago.

The Bucks should act quickly, and launch a new era for themselves, and the league as a whole.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.