Becky Hammon to replace Bill Laimbeer as Aces coach

WNBA fable Becky Hammon is finalizing a five-year woody to go the Aces’ coach, a idiosyncratic with cognition of the concern confirmed to the Review-Journal precocious Thursday.

Bill Laimbeer, who has coached the Aces the past 4 seasons to 3 WNBA semifinals appearances and 1 WNBA Finals, volition measurement distant but could presume different presumption wrong the organization.

Hammon’s woody volition marque her the WNBA’s highest-paid coach, the idiosyncratic confirmed.

Hammon, 44, has been an adjunct manager with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs since 2014. She was the archetypal full-time pistillate adjunct manager successful immoderate of the 4 large U.S. sports leagues and became the archetypal pistillate acting caput manager successful NBA past during a December 2020 crippled against the Lakers aft Gregg Popovich was ejected.

Hammon volition decorativeness the play with the Spurs, though the WNBA’s caller league twelvemonth begins Saturday.

She was a six-time WNBA All-Star and is simply a subordinate of the league’s 25th day squad — playing her premier years for the San Antonio Stars, who became the Aces successful 2017.

The Aces retired her No. 25 jersey successful September. She is inactive the franchise’s vocation person successful assists (1,333), 3-pointers (498) and free-throw percent (92.1). She ranks 2nd successful points (3,474) and vocation scoring mean (15.6) and 4th successful 3-point percent (38.8).

“Being present successful Las Vegas … it’s different immense honor,” Hammon said the time earlier the ceremony. “I truly admit the Aces digging backmost into past and honoring radical that came before. That’s however you physique culture. That’s however you physique quality successful your organization.”

The Aces were 24-8 successful 2021, losing to the Phoenix Mercury successful the WNBA semifinals.

Contact Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected Twitter.