Athletes - Becky Hammon

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	Athletes - Becky Hammon

Rebecca Lynn Hammon (born March 11, 1977), is a Women's National Basketball Association player who plays for the New York Liberty. She is a native of Rapid City, South Dakota.

Highschool years

Hammon played high school basketball at Stevens High School in Rapid City, South Dakota. As a junior, she was South Dakota Miss Basketball. As a senior, she was voted the South Dakota Player of the Year after averaging 26 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game.

College years

Hammon had a distinguished career at Colorado State. Her prolific scoring made her an All-American as well as Colorado Sportswoman of the Year. She led her team to a 33-3 record in the 1998-1999 season and helped them advance to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen. She was the WAC Mountain Division player of the year for the 1998-1999 season and surpassed University of Utah player Keith Van Horn as the WAC's all-time leading scorer.

Hammon holds many Colorado State all-time records, including points (2740), points per game (21.92), field goals made (918), free throws made (539), three-point field goals made (365), assists (538) and steals (315).

On November 12, 2004, Becky Hammon was inducted into the Colorado State University Sports Hall of Fame. On January 22, 2005, her #25 Colorado State jersey was retired at the Moby Arena.

WNBA career

Undrafted during her rookie season, Hammon was signed to the WNBA on May 12, 1999 and joined the New York Liberty. Her comparatively short height left her overlooked in the 1999 WNBA draft. Signed to the New York Liberty, she had a surprisingly solid rookie season statistically backing up starting point guard Teresa Weatherspoon. Her aggressive play at both ends of the court quickly made her a fan favorite among Liberty fans. After the 2003 season, Hammon took over for Teresa Weatherspoon as the Liberty's starting point guard and along with Vickie Johnson and Crystal Robinson, became one of the team's co-captains in 2004. Her aggressive play quickly got her noticed by the fans and coaching staff and she would land a starting role with the team in 2000.

Primarily used to provide instant points off the bench, Hammon finally had a breakout season in 2003, providing much-needed offense for the Liberty. However, her season was cut short by a season-ending knee injury.

When aging star Teresa Weatherspoon was not re-signed by the team that year, Hammon was thrust into the starting point guard role. She would help guide the Liberty to a playoff berth in 2004 amongst very close competition in the Eastern Conference.

On August 5, 2004 Hammon represented the WNBA All-Stars in the WNBA vs. USA basketball game that pitted the 2004 USA Women's Basketball team against WNBA players at Radio City Music Hall. On August 16, 2005 Hammon scored her 2000th WNBA career point. At the end of the 2005 season, she was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.

NWBL career

In 2003, Hammon was signed to the Colorado Chill, a team in the fledgling National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). She had spent her first season in the NWBL with the Tennessee Fury. Hammon led the league in scoring in the 2004 season, averaging 20.2 points per game, but her Colorado team fell short of winning the NWBL title, losing to the relocated Dallas Fury in the championship game.

In 2005, in a rematch of the previous year's championship game, Hammon and the Chill defeated her old team and won their first NWBL title. Hammon received the game's Most Valuable Player award with 31 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.

Trivia

Born to parents Martin and Beverly, Hammon's father was in the United States Coast Guard.

Vital statistics

Position: Guard
Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
College: Colorado State University, '99
Team(s): New York Liberty (WNBA), Tennessee Fury (NWBL), Colorado Chill (NWBL)

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