Teresa Weatherspoon and Becky Hammon embrace their intertwined legacies in the history — and future — of the WNBA

Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon yells to her players during a game against the Dallas Wings at Wintrust Arena on June 20, 2024. It has been 21 years since they wore the same jersey for the New York Liberty. In those years, Weatherspoon and Hammon formed part of a tight-knit fraternity of former WNBA players who have returned to the league as coaches.

In a friendship spanning nearly three decades, this is how they’ve always been: catching time between games, slipping back into conversation with an immediacy built on mutual respect. Weatherspoon had been on the Liberty roster since the league’s inception two years earlier, and she was a nine-year veteran of the toughest leagues in Europe. When Hammon showed up, it was Weatherspoon’s job to put the rookie through her paces.“It would be called hazing,” Hammon interjected with a laugh. “Back then it was just called, ‘Let’s see if you’re tough.’”

Hammon still was informed by her upbringing in Rapid City, S.D. Her environment back home was conservative and expectations were restrictive. “At the end of the day, they’re really super skilled, they’re fun to watch — and they’re jawing at each other,” Hammon said. “People like to be like, ‘Oh, Angel is talking.’ I’m like, nobody talks more crap than Caitlin too.’ … It’s a different generation. I think we talk subtly. They be talking in your face. And my thing is — let them go. They’re big girls.”

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