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Becky Hammon Subplot Only Adds to NBA Finals Intrigue

 As if the NBA Finals didn't have enough juice going into it, this angel certainly helps. 

 Becky Hammon, a former WNBA star, and current head coach of the Las Vegas Aces once questioned the Knicks chances of winning an NBA title with Jalen Brunson as its main star because of his height. 

" “If your best player is small, you're not winning" Hammon said on ESPN back in 2023. Adding New York doesn't have that gigantic 1A player to help out. 

When pressed about those remarks recently, Hammon doubled-down. 

"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. 

"That's the other thing, I think Jalen Brunson's a hell of a player, a hell of a player. I'm speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don't know why everybody's so stuck on that. I said it two years ago. I stand by it."  

Of course the Knicks did add Karl Anthony Towns two summers ago, but that clearly hasn't changed Hammon's mind. In a way she is right. Historically, teams that are undersized struggle to win NBA titles. It's not impossible, but it is tougher. 

One team that comes to mind that was the exception more than the rule was the 2004 Detroit Pistons who relied on their defense to smother the seemingly much taller and more talented Los Angeles Lakers in five games. Ironically, Shaquille O'Neil compared this Knicks team to that Pistons team that beat his Lakers. 

As for Hammon, what makes her remarks so intriguing now is the fact that she was once an assistant coach for eight years with the San Antonio Spurs, and even served as an interim Head Coach during the summer league one year. She was even in the running to succeed Popovich. 

Instead she became the head coach of the WNBA's San Antonio Stars, who eventually moved to Las Vegas. That Vegas team went on to beat the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals in 2023, before falling to the Liberty in the playoffs in 2024. The Liberty won it all two years ago. 

The irony is so steep this story makes for one incredible subplot.  

 

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