Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon calls out to players during Game 2 of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Mercury at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Mandalay Bay Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022
Friday, Aug. 26, 2022 | 12:58 p.m.
First-year Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon was named the WNBA’s Coach of the Year on Friday, the league announced.
Hammon guided the Aces to a league-best 26-10 mark and earned the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs. Las Vegas will play the Seattle Storm in the league’s semifinals. Game 1 is Sunday at Michelob Ultra Arena.
Hammon becomes the third former WNBA player ever to receive the honor, doing so in her first season with Las Vegas after seven years with the San Antonio Spurs as the NBA’s first full-time female assistant coach.
She earned 27 of a possible 56 votes.
The Aces averaged more than 90 points per game, a league-high. The starters — led by All-Stars A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young — set the league record for most points per game by a starting unit (77.5 PPG).
Hammon played eight of her 16 WNBA seasons with the San Antonio Silver Stars, the franchise that relocated to Las Vegas in 2018.
