“Becky Hammon or Chauncey Billups?” – Shaquille O’Neal gives his take on possible sexism in NBA
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Becky Hammon, Shaquille O'Neal, Chauncey Billups
You can always expect an honest take from the NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. The Lakers legend chimes in on the possible sexism prevalent in the league when it comes to appointing head coaches who are females.
Following Becky Hammon’s amazing feat with the Las Vegas Aces in the recent WNBA season, a lot of questions are beginning to pop into people’s minds about the Portland Trailblazers choosing former champion Chauncey Billups over the former San Antonio Spurs assistant coach. On the Big Podcast, hosted by Shaquille O’Neal, Nichelle Turner, and Spice Adams, the three talk about possible sexism in the NBA.
The co-host Nichelle asked the big fella about his thoughts on whether the Trailblazers should’ve gone with Hammon instead of Billups for the role of head coach. Shaquille O’Neal gave a very honest answer to Nichelle’s question and said the hiring should be based on purely merit.
“If they are better qualified than Chauncey Billups? Then yes. Okay? I don’t know how you tell a person is better qualified or not. But when I’m running a company, I need top people. Male or female,” said O’Neal on the podcast.
How many female head coaches has the NBA seen?
Becky Hammon helped Las Vegas aces bag their first-ever WNBA championship
After the recent snub of Becky Hammon, it makes you wonder how many females have actually coached an NBA team. Becky Hammon, herself who is prolific in her profession has only been the assistant coach to the legendary Greg Popovich in her time at the San Antonio Spurs.
In NBA history, we have sadly never seen a full-time female coach hired to lead an organization. However, Becky Hammon still remains to be the only female in the history of the sport to have fully coached an NBA game. She served as the head coach in an NBA game while the Spurs were playing the Lakers.
Also read: “It’s an EGO thing” Shaquille O’Neal confessed to starting legendary run with teammate out of spite
Lisa Boyer was the pioneer of them all. She was the first woman to ever hold a coaching position in NBA history. Lisa served as the assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2001-2022. Hopefully one day we get to see a woman leading an NBA team.
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Prateek Athanur
(2974 Articles Published)