Current:Home > MarketsBecky Hammon likens Liberty to Spurs as Aces trail 0-2: 'They feel like something was stolen' -Finovate
Becky Hammon likens Liberty to Spurs as Aces trail 0-2: 'They feel like something was stolen'
View
Date:2025-04-13 02:07:25
Becky Hammon has a lot of experience on the sideline.
Before becoming the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces in 2022, Hammon served as an assistant coach to Gregg Popovich on the San Antonio Spurs from 2014-21. With the two-time defending champion Aces trailing the New York Liberty 0-2 in the WNBA playoffs semifinal matchup, Hammon is drawing parallels between the Spurs and Liberty.
"You think about the Spurs — I do all the time — with the Miami Heat. (The Spurs) lose an absolute heartbreaker in Miami on basic things: offensive rebounds and kick-out three," Hammon said, referring to the Spurs' 95-88 loss to the Heat in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals. "(The Spurs) should have walked away with a title that year. They lost it that year. The next year they came back with so much drive, so much discipline, so much focus that there was no way someone was beating them in 2014."
The New York Liberty are the Spurs in this scenario. The Aces narrowly defeated the Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the 2023 WNBA Finals in New York last year to clinch the series 3-1 and win their second consecutive WNBA championship.
That was the last time the Aces defeated the Liberty. New York swept the Aces this year, winning all three of their matchups, including one in New York and two on the road in Las Vegas. And so far, the Liberty have taken a 2-0 lead on the Aces as the best-of-five semifinal series shifts to Las Vegas for Game 5 on Friday.
"(The Spurs) took a huge loss (in 2013). The Liberty took a huge loss last year and I liken it to that a little bit," Hammon said. "(The Spurs) had it, they felt like they had it and we walked away with it. I did think we were the better team. ... I'm sure they feel like something was stolen a little bit."
Hammon added: "At the end of the day in two years, we've won (in New York) one time ... Game 4. Other than that, they've kicked our (expletive)."
Hammon called the Liberty the best team in the league this year and said her team's latest struggles highlight the difficulties of winning three titles in a row.
"We haven't had the edge all year. We found it the last month. We've gained a lot of ground, but the feel was different from the jump. This is why three-peating is hard," Hammon said. "The whole league hasn't been pissed off the past eight months and my players are in commercials and freaking celebrities and you get distracted. That's why it's hard, because human nature's distracting."
The Aces will look to keep their three-peat dreams alive on Friday in Game 5.
veryGood! (58)
Related
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- The life and possible death of low interest rates
- At Global Energy Conference, Oil and Gas Industry Leaders Argue For Fossil Fuels’ Future in the Energy Transition
- The U.S. Military Emits More Carbon Dioxide Into the Atmosphere Than Entire Countries Like Denmark or Portugal
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Amazon Prime Day Early Deal: Save 47% on the TikTok-Loved Solawave Skincare Wand That Works in 5 Minutes
- City and State Officials Continue Searching for the Cause of Last Week’s E. Coli Contamination of Baltimore’s Water
- Biden Could Score a Climate Victory in a Single Word: Plastics
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- When AI works in HR
Ranking
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- DC Young Fly Shares How He Cries All the Time Over Jacky Oh's Death
- First raise the debt limit. Then we can talk about spending, the White House insists
- YouTuber MrBeast Shares Major Fitness Transformation While Trying to Get “Yoked”
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Warming Trends: British Morning Show Copies Fictional ‘Don’t Look Up’ Newscast, Pinterest Drops Climate Misinformation and Greta’s Latest Book Project
- See Bre Tiesi’s Shoutout to “Daddy” Nick Cannon on Their Son Legendary Love’s First Birthday
- 'We're just at a breaking point': Hollywood writers vote to authorize strike
Recommendation
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
Jada Pinkett Smith Teases Possible Return of Red Table Talk After Meta Cancelation
Gallaudet University holds graduation ceremony for segregated Black deaf students and teachers
At Global Energy Conference, Oil and Gas Industry Leaders Argue For Fossil Fuels’ Future in the Energy Transition
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Hurry! Everlane’s 60% Off Sale Ends Tonight! Don’t Miss Out on These Summer Deals
Inside Clean Energy: A Geothermal Energy Boom May Be Coming, and Ex-Oil Workers Are Leading the Way
ConocoPhillips’ Plan for Extracting Half-a-Billion Barrels of Crude in Alaska’s Fragile Arctic Presents a Defining Moment for Joe Biden