The San Antonio Spurs' 5 best quotes about Becky Hammon

2. "She did it the right way. When she interjected, people listened." - Tim Duncan

It didn't take long for Tim Duncan to realize the whole assistant coaching thing wasn't for him. He lasted for all of one season, the 2019-20 season, before stepping down with one victory as acting head coach under his belt. Still, he had spent the last couple of years of his playing career with Hammon sitting on the bench as an assistant, and he saw firsthand just how important she was.

"She did it the right way," he said on the Road Trippin' Podcast. "She was great at her role. She knows basketball."

The compliments about Hammon's pure knowledge of coaching Xs and Os was a recurring theme from players throughout her time as an assistant coach, but it might mean a little more coming from one of the greatest players in NBA history.

"She knows her stuff," continued Duncan. "She did it the right way. She did what she was asked to do. When she interjected, people listened. People respected her."

3. "Her knowledge of the game is one-of-a-kind, and the person she is off the floor makes her even better." - DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan might not quite have had the on-court help he needed during his three-year stint with the Spurs, but he's spoken repeatedly about just how much he learned from both Coach Popovich and Coach Hammon in that time.

"She's not intimidated by nothing," said DeRozan in a 2020 interview with ESPN. "She'll get up in your face and tell you something, but she's the most positive individual when it comes to basketball. Her Xs and Os when it comes to drawing up plays -- she knows her stuff."

DeMar continued his praise of Hammon as a "player's coach", one he saw as a family member at times. He also emphasized her character off the court, which made her presence as a coach even better.

"Her knowledge of the game is one-of-a-kind," he said. "And the person she is off the floor makes her even better."