Episode 29: Overtime Thoughts

Becky Hammon - From Player to Coach    The OGs discuss Las Vegas WNBA head coach Becky Hammon’s career, her path to success, and the legacy she continues to build. Hammon made history in 2020 as the first woman to serve as a head coach in an NBA regular-season game after Gregg Popovich was ejected. Tune in to hear the story of one of basketball’s most influential coaches.

Running Point   Mary Lou and Phyllis watched the first two seasons of Running Point on Netflix. Not sure what they'll have to say? Tune in to hear their thoughts on this popular series and whether it's worth adding to your watchlist.

Summer League 101: What Every NBA Fan Should Know    Breaking down how the NBA Summer League developed, who participates, and why basketball fans pay close attention to these games. From rookies and draft picks to players fighting for roster spots, learn how the Summer League helps shape the future of the NBA.

Summertime is in full swing.  The OGs are taking some time off and our Podcast schedule reflects the season.  Weekly drops will be back in the Fall and until then, once or twice a month will be it. 

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Transcript

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Hi all, welcome to OG's Talk and Ball. Phyllis and Mary Lou are here today, and we have we are switched back now to a three-topic session and we're kind of flip-flopping back and forth over the summer months because life is different in the summer. I'm sure your lives are a bit different, and certainly ours are too, with a little little bit more maybe of outdoory kinds of things, outdoorsy kinds of things on our calendars, or work, or travel, or whatever happens. So today we've got three topics that we are going to look at, and one being Becky Hammond. And you know, we've done kind of a few other amazing basketball coaches who have either becoming legacies or who are a legacy. And we thought, as a tribute to the WNBA, since they are in full swing at this point, that we would take a look at Becky Hammond. And then another thing we will talk about next will be the Netflix series that's called Running Point, and we'll talk more about that as we get to it. And then the last thing we're gonna kind of set you up for what the NBA Summer League is all about and why that's become such a big deal. Did I cover it all, Phyllis? Sounds right to me. Okay. So what do we want to talk? What do we want to say about Becky? Becky Hammond. She is the coach for the Las Vegas Aces, has been for the last five years. Right. You know, the first year she was a coach there, she got coach of the year. How about that? It was her first head coaching job. And she's not even 50, correctly. She's 49. Okay. All right, let's get all that into perspective for uh folks that might not know much about Becky, but she certainly has had an interesting life leading up to where she is today, I think, as far as her basketball world, things, decisions that she made about basketball that affected her life and maybe her reputation, perhaps. I you know, I don't know. But I think she is a force, and um certainly if I were on her team, she gets a certain look, you would know you better you better straighten it out, or else you're gonna be sitting next to me here on the bench, kiddo, you know, that kind of thing. Yep, yeah. Anyway, so um Becky started in uh Colorado, right? In school. She was a Colorado State Ram. That's where she went to college. Do you have that same information? Yeah, but she was born and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota. Right. So she's a from South Dakota, but she went to high school there. There, okay. She excelled in high school. True. She was a state player and all that, you know. Right. Even she's she's uh five foot six, right, and she was a point guard. And she did really well in high school, but she she was not heavily recruited for no college. No, she wasn't. She wasn't. You know, uh but during her childhood her her father was uh basketball coach for three decades, so she had um some home teaching. I was gonna say, certainly in her blood then too, you know, to have that passion that she had for the game. And she was a three-time All-American there at Colorado State. And um Yeah, she she m I think she had the most points ever scored there and assists. And assists. And assists. I think it's that record still holds there at Colorado. So yeah, she's she's kind of set the stage to be you know the excellent coach that she is, and I'm I know I'm saying how I feel about her, but I do think she's really um an amazing person, so an amazing coach. So yeah, so then she graduates from college, yeah, and she's still not drafted. Nope, not nobody nobody wanted her. So what do you do? What do you do? Well, apparently she got invited to the New York Liberties um training camp. Mm-hmm. And she did so well there at training camp that the Liberty picked her up. Yeah. And then from there she went to the San Antonio Still Silver Stars that became the aces in 2018. So one of those switcheroo things that happens. So yeah, she um yeah, she she just kept on going. I mean, her being only five foot six, and again, some of you that maybe are only flirting with five feet tall can't identify, but five's six in basketball in the women's basketball anyway, these days, too, is relatively short. You know, she was considered short and slow. Oh my god. And here she is, she's just a ball of energy. I was gonna say a fireball. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. Known for passing and uh shooting and assists and really um really impressed them enough to to make her uh 16 years in the uh WNBA. Yeah, yeah. But then in 2013, she tore her knee up. Meniscus, I think, yeah. Yeah, no, something like that. Anterior cruciate light. Okay, well, that was too many words for me. Okay. ACL. ACL, gotcha. Okay, thank you. Took a year to rehab. She was in San Antonio at the time. Yes, that's the team she was on. So she started hanging around with the Spurs, the NBA Spurs. Not just hanging around, she got hired as an assistant coach. Yeah, well, she spent the first year when she was rehabbing, uh, going to games, kind of, yes, going to practice, yeah, sitting in on coaches meetings. Yep, yeah. And um that's that's when um she was invited to by Greg Popovich to be an assistant coach for him. So she was the first woman to work full-time in the um, actually as a as an assistant coach in any major sport. Right, right. No, no, no. And she stayed there for a while, you know. Um, she wasn't just there for a year or two, you know, she was there for several years. Um, before she did that while she was still um playing in her um NBA um or WNBA career, I should say. Let me go back a little bit and then we'll fast forward again. Yes, she did a little something interesting there. Yes, she did in 2008, after learning that she wasn't going to be invited for the US national team to try out, another like eh, you're not we're not having you kind of thing. Couldn't play for the Olympics for the United States. She announced that she would try to claim a roster spot on the Russian national team and the 2008 Olympics team for Russia. And she did. She did and was there, right? Yes, and she she became a naturalized Russian. Yes, she did. Because if they won the gold or the silver, she was going to get a big bonus. Ah. But they got a bronze. Right. Yeah, they ended up with the bronze. Yes, they did. But yeah, it was quite fodder for all the talking heads, let's say it that way, about when she did that. You know, the broadcasters were just aghast that anyone would and she didn't denounce her U.S. citizenship. She just opted to go for another one. Yeah, you know what I mean at the time. Right, because she wanted to play basketball. So um that was that was pretty amazing. That I thought that was quite bold and quite telling, so about who she is. I guess she'll just do as she pleases. That's right. All right, so now we can again fast forward to her time in um San Antonio, and now she's with the Las Vegas Aces, as we know, and she has really set her mark there. That um, you know, before then, she's she's a Naismith Hall of Famer, so we talked about Naismith a while back. So that was in 2023. Right. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Right, yeah, right. And she had all kinds of accolades, six-time WNBA All-Star for several years, you know, in between. And some of that was when she was doing the Russia thing as well, because these were years from 2003 to 2011. So, I mean, she obviously, as we said, as we started this uh particular segment, she has got basketball in her blood. You know, there's no way that any of that's gonna go away from Becky Hammond. So, um also she was a franchise icon for both of those teams that we mentioned, the San Antonio Silver Stars and the Liberty, and just an elite playmaker and scorer. And yet she wasn't going she couldn't try out for the US. That just baffles me. For the Olympic team, yeah. Yeah, that baffles me for the U.S. team. Yeah. So um and you did did you did you know in 2015 she was the um summer league coach for the Spurs? Yes, yes, yes, and they won. Yes, they did the championship. They won the whole thing. Yep, they did. Yeah, I said she's um I know uh people might not be attracted to her because of the controversy that she has a trail of, it seems, and she kind of called out recently a few years ago, and it came back again because of where the Knicks are landed, you know, with the Western, with their Eastern Conference finals and now going into the big playoff, or they went through to the big playoff, excuse me, because this is anyway. Um, but she called out about Jalen Brunson and could he really take he's a small guy too. I mean, she could certainly identify and could he be the headliner that could take a team to win it all. So we'll just see we'll see. We will know by this point, but we're not giving away any anything at this point. So, other than that, also I think it's always a true testimony for um a leader if people that you worked with have can move on, you know, and become a leader also at your level. And she has two of her former assistant coaches from the ACES that are now WNBA coaches, and one is Natalie Nakase, who is um the Valkyries coach, and the other one is Tyler March, who's the head coach of the Chicago Sky. So yeah, and the Valkyries are Golden State, right? Golden State Valkyries. So I just think that's pretty awesome. And gonna kind of leave it with that thought. Well, you've got probably something else that you can see. Yeah, I want to say she was the first WNBA coach to make over a million dollars. Oh, cool. Okay, yeah, yeah. Men or women, yeah, you know, for the WNBA. Good for her. And in 2021, she was a finalist for the head coach job for Portland Trailblazers. Yes, she was. When Chauncey Bills was I'm not even gonna eventually say anything about any of that right now. That'll be another 10-minute segment, and I'm not going there. So let's close this one out, and we will be back in a few minutes. We're gonna take your little break in between, and we are gonna talk about running point. So, Mary Lou, let's talk about Running Point. You know that's a TV series on Netflix? Yes, I just been watching it watching it. Yes, the second season of that, and um I don't know if I knew what to expect when I first started watching it. I was kind of like on the fence. Like, is this gonna be something that will keep get and keep my attention or not? What do you what are what's your feelings about this? Well, I I started it last year. You know, it came out the first season was in 25, and then the second season was just this in 26. Uh-huh. And um what I started at, I wasn't sure. Uh-huh. You know, there's a you know There's a lot to it, because it's not just about basketball. I mean, not that basketball is not complicated in itself. I'm not trying to say that, but you're talking about this whole family. Family dynamics when is the main theme of this program. Very, very, very, I'll say that three very loosely based on Jeannie Buss. Yeah, well, she's an executive producer for that show. So she, but I'm sure there are certain things that are going on, especially some of those family dynamics, that are very real, you know, to her, to Jeannie. But uh I just think uh Kate Hudson does a great job in this movie. Oh yeah, you know, and not movie, but you know, in the series. And they're like half-hour segments, which are really easy, kind of like the same with our podcast, that you try to keep it sweet and simple and don't get too complicated so that people can watch it. And if like you, if you don't pick it up again for several months or the next year or whenever, uh you haven't lost much, you know. So obviously, if you're a deep thinker, this may not be for you. But in the meantime, it's just well, it's supposed to be a comedy, it's supposed to be um you know, it's it's not supposed to be a biopic of the Bus family. Right. You know, Jeannie Bus is inherited the Los Angeles Lakers when her father died. And her two brothers and she had c quite uh quite a a time figuring out who was gonna run things and so this uh series is actually based on that sibling rivalry. Right, right. Um, but the details are not the same as what happened in real life. But the whole general um feeling of it is sort of like that's what happened. Well, yeah, and it's high power, you know what I mean? You've got low money. Filthy rich. I mean filthy rich, yeah, that's a good way of putting it. And um certainly um that's not shied away from at all, you know, talking about how the things cost and and well I think it's interesting though, some of the player dynamics that they get into, because you could kind of see some of that happening in real life, you know, maybe not to that extent, or I'm sure none none of this is exactly the same because it we're all so different and it you know, situations are so different. But um, again, I just think it's fun to watch. Um, you know, I I'm missing it now that we finished the two seasons, but it has been renewed for next a third season, too. So I don't know how soon that'll be up and running. But I don't know, but the the way I operate, I'll probably wait till the season's over and watch them all in a rope because yeah, I I don't like to end on cliffhangers and and not know what's gonna happen. And they do that, they're very good at doing that. And you know, the developers of this were Mindy Kayling, who's you know, a great actress in her own right and uh great screenwriter, uh David Stassen, and then this Ike Barenholtz. And Ike Behrenholtz is kind of a name that is not an everyday common name, but he was like the first Celebrity Jeopardy champion, you know, they have that Celebrity Jeopardy series, so he's a very, very bright, brilliant guy, you know, and really again some of the introspective stuff that they have pulled off in this mini-series, I guess you would call it, in the good old days, that's what we called them. Um, in these uh two years or two seasons. Seasons is I still, yeah, gotta get those words in my vocabulary. But um, anyway, I just think they've done a really nice job of again. I know Phyllis's the cliffhangers aren't your favorite, but yeah, they do a good job with it, you know. So that's why it's gonna happen now. Yeah, I want to know. Right away. Yeah. Right now. So the yeah, the bummer is now I'm we finished both 20 episodes of altogether, and now we know that there's a cliffhanger at the end there, too, that we have to wait, you know, until they start going again to see what that's gonna look like. So anyway, Kate Hudson is the star. She plays um Isla Gordon, and um Justin Thoreau is her brother, one of her brothers, the older brother, and they have quite an interesting dynamic. They certainly do. And he's got his issues and challenges in life, and she did too, and she kind of rose above hers, and he, I would guess the best way to put it is a work in progress with gripping, get coming to grips with his demons and things that are, you know, kind of you know, getting his way. So the story is described as a reformed party girl who must prove herself as a businesswoman when she is unexpectedly put in charge of her family's pro basketball team. Right. The pro basketball team is called the waves. Right, the LA Waves. Yeah, the LA Waves. Do you know about the um the Pepperdine suit? No, because I knew Pepperdine are the waves, you know, that's their Pepperdine University, which is there in Malibu near LA. Um, and I'll let you finish that thought. Yeah, well, they they've been the waves since uh 1937. I was gonna say since that school opened, I'm sure. And they have the same colors that were oh my goodness, I didn't realize that orange and blue, uh-huh. The same colors. So they filed a suit about uh they alleged trademark infringement and unfair competition. Wow, and they didn't want to be confused or associated with this program because the it's pretty risque themes. Yes, it's definitely definitely are, you know. If so, if you're thinking about watching this with the fam, it's not a good idea. This is after after kids are in bed and you want maybe just your own guilty pleasure of watching something, that would be it, mom and dad, and adults in general. So yeah, it's not a kid-oriented show at all. Right. The themes include substance abuse, nudity, and a great deal of profanity. Yeah. Every sentence, yeah, let's say. Yeah, um, anyway, the federal judge in California dismissed the lawsuit because of under the free speech law. Interesting. Interesting. Yes. So close but no cigar, basically, for pepperdine. Right. But they did make a point of this is not us. Right, yes, yeah. This is actually the Bus family. Right. Now, Jeannie Bus is um still the governor there. She does the the day-to-day uh running of the team, but they are minority order owners now. Right, they sold last year for just an unheard of bazillions of dollars, it seemed, you know. So she but part of the agreement is that she stays on running it for the foreseeable future. So that's kind of interesting, but all of the acting is so good, and you know, even her best friend in the on the series. Right, um Brenda Song is the actress's name. Right. She goes by Allie Lee as her friend. And that's based off of uh Jeannie Buss's best friend, wow, who also works for the Lakers. Okay, okay, yeah, this is yeah, this is a longtime friendship through thick and through thin and thick, I guess you would say, because uh because of um Isla's uh previous decisions that kind of led her um, you know, in college and off the deep end and all those other kinds of things. But yeah, they've got some other interesting uh brothers. There's more than just two in this one, you know, the family kind of expanded. Right more. And then there's one that's uh uh part Hispanic, part Mexican, and he came into the scene a little bit later. They call him Jackie, and he's become a fan favorite, you know, because I think they maybe had first written him in as a short term, and that got changed pretty quickly when you know social media took over. Very popular, he became very popular, and he um yeah, he's just kind of fun to watch. So Rotten Tomatoes gave it four stars, 79% rating. Okay, IMDB gave it three and a half stars with a 7.3 rating. Okay, and Metacritic panned it and said, Don't waste your time. Oh really? Yes, well, I'd say don't waste your time if you're looking for some deep um well you have to think a whole lot about what's going on. But if you want just some kind of like lightweight It's a comedy comedy, you know, and and not not take it too seriously, but appreciate good acting, I'd say sign up to watch it, you know, give it a try. And I think you have to watch more than one episode to kind of get the flavor too. Yes. At least maybe two or three, and then you kind of think, oh, okay, well now I know who all the family people are and who's on first and what the different rivalries are among them, and all good. I I'll I loved the show. I did you really think it was it was very engaging. I and younger people, my daughter for one, recommended it to me as well. So it's not just you know, like old ladies who want to sit and like you know be entertained. No, there wasn't, it's not it's about a basketball team, and there is basketball in it, and there is sort of behind the scenes basketball. Exactly. There's more too interesting. It is. There's there's a lot, there's a lot of layers there. So anyway, watch it and see what you think. And um we're gonna move or don't. Yeah, it's your choice. We kind of told you what we know about it, and we're gonna move on and talk about um uh summer league. That's gonna be happening really soon in the NBA. Oh hang on. Okay, we're moving on to talk about. Summer League. Earlier our podcast series, we did mention Summer League and some of just a tiny bit about it. Um, but we have Summer League beginning for the NBA in Las Vegas on July 9th, and it's a 10-day run of every team now. It hadn't always been that way, but every team in the NBA will have a summer league team. Who are on those teams, Phyllis? Oh this is this is uh an opportunity for the brand new draft picks for each team. Um also uh you know the all the rookies play. Right. And actually, if you were a first round draft choice, you're it's mandatory that you play in the episode. Okay. Yeah, and then the sophomores from the team, the team the players on your team that were rookies this past season also have to come to this and get more experience. And then uh they invite people to come and try out too to round out the team. People they want to look at as possibilities. I see what they look like playing against not just their not just in a practice session, but in in a competition, so to speak, you know. Right. So this is the off-season competition organized by the NBA after the draft each year. And it's really become quite a big deal. You know, the first one started 40 years ago, actually, in 1984, as just kind of a you know, not well well organized, not well done at all, by a legendary basketball promoter by the name of Warren Legarry, and it was called the Las Vegas Summer League. Only a handful of teams participated at UNLV, is where they had it, at the university there, and it was just an opportunity for uh free agents and rookies to play a little bit of basketball in the summer, so it wasn't as organized as it has become. So what what changed do you think? Well, I I think p people were happy to to see the the big stars for the first time, you know. The ones we heard about, like last year, Cooper Flag, and the year before the board and it was Wemby draw, right, big, big draw, you know, and it just became um more and more popular. Right, to see them not just and Wemby didn't play for college here, but some of the college stars that we have been following, you know, this past year in uh the NCAA and through the tournament and everything, and see again what they look like playing in the NBA, like for real. A little you know NBA competition, right? Uh now 12 minute quarters and you know things change, you know, from um when they where they were last. University of Nevada. Yes, that's one of the venues, and then the other one is at the Thomas and Mac Center there in Las Vegas. So they have simultaneous games going on. Yeah, the more important games are on um at National TV. They well yeah, you uh but um at the Thomas Mack Center, the the bigger deal games, the ones that are going to draw more um visitors, more fans, and then the other games are at the pavilion. Pavilion, yeah. All very much air conditioned because you're talking Vegas in July. Right. But it but and they're very close to each other. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. So this all came about or the re rebirth of this was in 2004, um, when the NBA officially sanctioned the summer league. So before then there was 20 years of just like, oh yeah, there's this basketball going on in Vegas kind of thing, and now everybody knows what the NBA summer league is. And it's kind of like a lot of the uh uh veteran players will go and watch some games, you know. You see them uh in the audience uh if the camera catches them there. Um, it's become kind of a social place for them to hang with their buddies, you know, maybe people they don't see too often, and Vegas certainly has is an attractive uh place for you know having good meals and some good entertainment and those kinds of things. So when it came about in 2004, there were six official teams, six um uh NBA teams. It was Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix, and Washington were the six teams that were like invited or signed up to play. And that was a big deal, you know, and it became a bigger deal as time passed. Yeah, well now it now it includes all thirty teams of the NBA and the Summer League really just focuses on player development, evaluating the rookies, experimenting with different rosters rather than winning. Right. And actually winning the Summer League has no correlation to winning during the regular season. That's true. It it means nothing. It's very true. It's very true. Very true. It's more fun to win, yeah. And it's exciting, right? And it's you know, each each of the 30 teams plays five games. Right. And after four, the um the two teams with the best record are then play for the championship. Everybody else plays um you know, each other for the loser rounds. Right, right. Well, also um interesting is that that's a place the summer league is where the NBA might test a new rule that they're contemplating. Oh, yeah, and the of instituting the officials also practice there. Right. They get their some of their first experiences um doing those games. It's gonna be curious if any of that changes, you know. Some of the so many of the broadcasters that I listen to are saying they should have to have a press conference. The officials should have to have a press conference too and kind of defend or account for what they call and why. And is it because they don't see things? And a lot of times, you know, you'd look at a replay and the official was like two feet away from where this infraction took place and didn't see it. You know, is it hiding in plain sight? I mean, what exactly, and I don't know. I I've never been on that, you know, part of a whistle uh to be an official, but thank goodness. Yeah, I know, yeah, gotta be real scary. Um, but anyway, yeah, so it'll be it'll be interesting that as well as um there's so many wheel and wheeling and so much wheeling and dealing that happens too among uh staff, you know, among them. Yeah, well, there's scouts there from every team because the the players on one team that aren't going to make it on your team, right? Still might make it on another team. That's the players use it, right? The undrafted players use it as a showcase for their skills too, and they try to do their best so they'll be picked up maybe by a different team than they're playing for, you know. Forty-five percent of the players are invited to play in the summer league. Um the 45% of what players? Uh the players on a team. On a team, okay. Not on any given team. Gotcha. Okay, that makes sense. And they're they're provided with round trip airfare and lodging, and they're giving uh money per diem for food. Oh wow. Like $150 or so for food. Look out, those buffets must really have this because some of those guys can really be. I mean, you're talking seven footers. I mean, they're they gotta have a hefty appetite. You know, they're not just gonna have got it's cheese and toast for breakfast, I wouldn't think. Yeah. You know, the G League players and the NBA players who are playing for the Summer League are not given extra money. That's just part of their contract. Uh-huh. Is that they're not going to be able to do that. The expectation is, yeah. And then have you have you heard about uh the exhibit 10 contracts? I've heard of them tell me let's let's explain. Okay. So uh any team can have up to six players that are signed to an exhibit 10 contract. It's a one-year non-guaranteed NBA minimum salary contract, and that that they sign a lot of them in June and July. So they get so a your team gets the rights to that player. I see. So n a different team cannot pick them up. Got it. So it protects them. Uh-huh. Protects the team and the player. And these are people they want to look at during summer league and training camp. And then if they make the regular team, then they get a different contract. Sure. Other than that, do they go to G League then? Is that an automatic? No, it's not an automatic, it's an option. Okay. And if they stay for 60 days in the G League, they get a bonus of $85,300. Oh wow. So did you just make that up or no? It's true. $85,300. What a like crazy number. That's the bonus $360. I love it. I love it. Okay. Well, it's easy to remember when it's something that's that's kind of that different. You know, there have been so many outstanding players that started in, you know, we need to talk about our dame, of course, Damian Lillard. Alonzo Ball was a standout when he was in summer league, as was Blake Griffin, Cam Thomas. Oh my God. And of course, you know, LeBron, way back when in 2003. And they all had to play. And oh my goodness. So we've got to look forward to coming up July 9th. And uh all that'll be, I'm sure you'll hear about it a million times over because you know, basketball in general has become a much bigger thing, and certainly on uh NBC, ABC, ESPN, those are and Amazon or whatever that's called, Prime, our favorite. I'm sure a lot of games will be, I mean, you won't miss a game, probably, you know, and your own local markets, I'm sure too. So yeah, you can watch them on TV now with that. You know, it's not so looking for them. Right. Yeah, right. It's not so hard. Well, fill us another great segment, three great segments, and um a good time, and I think we're gonna close it. And I, you know, I'm gonna say life is better with basketball. Oh, and be kind to each other out there, people.