Jay Williams Wanted A WNBA Coach To Replace Gregg Popovich - Seriously
Gregg Popovich has retired from coaching the San Antonio Spurs, and ESPN reporter Jay Williams had an idea of who should replace him.
And it was a completely ridiculous choice.
On Friday, Williams tweeted that he wanted Becky Hammon to replace the winningest coach in NBA history. For those of you who don’t know who that is, she is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces - in the WNBA.
Yeah, that was Williams’ No. 1 pick to fill the void.
Jay Williams (left) proposed that a WNBA coach should replace Gregg Popovich (right). Fortunately, the Spurs to didn't listen to his idea. (Images taken from Getty Images).
"If the Spurs are serious about legacy, development, and modern leadership—Becky Hammon is the move. She’s learned under Pop, won titles on her own, and commands respect at every level. This isn’t about breaking barriers—it’s about hiring the most qualified leader for the Wemby era. Period," Williams wrote on X.
It’s worth noting that the Spurs quickly ignored Williams’ plea and promoted assistant coach Mitch Johnson to be captain of the Spurs’ ship, so that settles that issue. But can we go back to Williams’ idea for just a second?
Yes, Hammon did indeed serve as an assistant under Popovich from 2014-2021. She’s also won two WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023. However, being a head coach in the WNBA and NBA are two wildly different animals.
The men’s game is more competitive. The pressure is insane. The personalities come with more baggage. That’s just the list of challenges on paper.
Then there’s the challenge of having a woman coach a team of self-obsessed alpha-males. Many male head coaches have a problem commanding the respect of their players for long periods of time. How could anyone rightly expect a woman to have any more success?
Yes, I said it.
Men need to be led by men. That's how we are designed. The negative, intangible relationship dynamics that come from women leading men would make a situation like that be chaotic from the onset.
Williams probably knows all this, yet was willing to post this suggestion and act like he wasn’t suggesting this for a woke purpose. What an idiot.
He was appropriately lit up for his take on X.