By Megan Armstrong0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon is admittedly biased about the 2026 NBA Finals.
Hammon played half of her Hall of Fame WNBA career with the San Antonio Stars, the franchise that relocated to Vegas and rebranded as the Aces in 2018. After retiring in 2014, she became an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich's staff for the San Antonio Spurs until she became the Aces' head coach in 2022.
So when Hammon was asked for her thoughts on the Spurs reaching the Finals, it was sort of a rhetorical question.
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"[It's] sweet," Hammon said during her pregame media availability before her Aces beat the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday. "It's awesome. Super happy for them. You know, they had some rough years there, and it takes a lot of people doing a lot of things right to build that, to get to that.
"That doesn't just happen overnight. They've been building out their roster now for years. Obviously, you don't just have a franchise guy in Wemby; you have a generational guy. It's been really fun to watch them play."
...Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs to a Game 7 victory over the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City on Saturday night.
Wemby won the Earvin "Magic" Johnson Trophy as the Western Conference Finals MVP, and now he has the opportunity to simultaneously bring the first championship back to San Antonio since 2014 and prove Hammon right.
Hammon was unwillingly thrust into the news cycle when the New York Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday. Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson won the Larry Bird Trophy as Eastern Conference Finals MVP. In December 2023, Hammon said that Brunson was too small at 6-foot-2 to lead a team to a championship.
"If your best player is small, you're not winning," Hammon said.
Earlier this week, Hammon was informed that Knicks fans were dancing on her opinion's grave.
"I speak from experience," Hammon said, per 8 News Now. "Allen Iverson got MVP, and he lost in the Finals. I think the two best teams are probably in the West, but I'm up for being proven wrong. And that's the other thing. I think Jalen Brunson is a hell of a player. A hell of a player. I'm speaking historically on the NBA."
Hammon added, "I stand by it. There's no air to be cleared. I said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong. Good for him. But I do think the two best teams are in the West. You know who I'm cheering for."
Even if Brunson leads the Knicks to their first championship since 1973, Hammon will still be historically correct, and Brunson will join Isiah Thomas and Stephen Curry as the exceptions to the rule.
And for anyone discrediting Hammon's basketball expertise, she's the head coach of the WNBA's reigning dynasty, with the Aces winning three of the past four championships.
The Knicks and Spurs will meet in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Wednesday, June 3, in San Antonio.
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