Gregg Popovich Had Hilarious Plan to Get Out of Preseason Game and Watch Aces, Becky Hammon

The San Antonio Spurs coach was thrilled to see former assistant Becky Hammon win her second consecutive WNBA title with the Las Vegas Aces.

Becky Hammon has put together an impressive playing and coaching career, evidenced by her two WNBA championships. On Wednesday night when the Aces won the WNBA title behind Hammon’s leadership, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, joked that he considered getting ejected from his team’s preseason game so he could watch his former assistant in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.

“I thought about getting booted tonight because [Game 4 in New York] was exactly the same time [as the Spurs game], but I just thought this has to be my priority,” Popovich told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News after the Spurs beat the Rockets, 117-103. “It was close. Congrats, Becky. Yeah, baby. Good stuff.”

#Spurs win tonight 117-103, but the only team Gregg Popovich wanted to talk about in the postgame press conference was Becky Hammon's WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces.

Hammon served as a Spurs assistant under Pop from 2014-22.

"I gotta go get some wine....can I say that?" @LVAces pic.twitter.com/IAu0KZlm9I

— Nate Ryan (@nateryansports) October 19, 2023

Popovich went on to heap praise on Hammon, who served under Popovich as a Spurs assistant for eight years, per the Express-News.

“She’s special because she’s Becky, the same reasons why I hired her,” Popovich said of Hammon, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this summer. “She’s a competitive, competitive coach. She understands the game. She’s great with relationships. She suffers no fools. She’s fun to be around. What else could you ask?”

The Aces edged the Liberty, 70-69, in Game 4 on Wednesday night to capture their second consecutive WNBA championship.