NBA commissioner Adam Silver is optimistic in the status of women in the league and believes soon they can be a head coach following San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon's success in this year's Summer League.
Hammon was the first ever full-time woman coach (assistant) in the NBA after being hired by Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich last season.
The 39-year-old Hammon was assigned to coach the Spurs' Summer League team and after losing their tournament opener won six consecutive times to capture the championship as she becomes the first woman to do so.
Because of the accomplishment, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he is proud of Hammon and strengthened his belief in a bright future for women in the NBA.
Silver was at the Beyond Sport United conference last Wednesday and was unable to watch Hammon's Spurs win the championship live but he saw it on television.
"No different than for me in coming up in my career. Unless you're given those opportunities, you're never going to show your ability to be successful," Silver said about Hammon in the conference.
The NBA commissioner already commended the Spurs for hiring Hammon last season.
The emergence of Hammon in the sport, the increase of women playing basketball especially in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the number of women working in the NBA makes Silver believe that there is already a huge change that will soon break barriers.
"It takes women like Becky being out there. You need pioneers. There have been other pioneers before her, but I think she — you couldn't ask for more of a complete package, in terms of a former player, student of the game, and somebody who's able to work within a strong organization like the Spurs," Silver said in the conference.
Hammon played collegiate ball for Colorado State and started her professional career in 1999. She played in the WNBA and Europe before officially retiring in 2014.
