Becky Hammon signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Liberty on May 19, 1999. She played with the Liberty from 1999-2006 and played in the Liberty’s first three out of four WNBA Finals appearances in 1999, 2000, and 2002. Becky’s years are some of the most memorable in New York Liberty history. She was the first one to hug Teresa Weatherspoon when she made the game winning half court shot in Game 2 of the WNBA finals on September 4th, 1999. In that game, she had 10 points to help the Liberty force a Game 3.
PHOTO GALLERY OF BECKY HAMMON WITH LIBERTY
In 2000, Becky helped the Liberty get to their second consecutive WNBA Finals, leading the team with 19 points in the series clinching game two of the semifinals against the Washington Mystics. In five out of the eight years Hammon was on the Liberty, she played in every single game. She started her career backing up Weatherspoon, but when Teresa left the Liberty after the 2003 season, Hammon along with Vickie Johnson and Crystal Robinson, became captains of the team in 2004. She quickly became a fan favorite because of her aggressive play on both ends of the court, especially in clutch situations and her crafty, jaw dropping moves under the basket.
New York Liberty Franchise records
1st: Most Three-Point Field Goals in a playoff series: 10, vs. Detroit, 2004 First Round.
2nd in games played : 227
2nd in threes: 331
3rd in points scored: 2,367
4th in assists: 575
4th in field goals made: 778
4th in free throws made: 480
4th in steals: 244
4th in minutes played: 5,559
Memorable Years with Liberty (1999-2006)
The Liberty made the playoffs every year Becky Hammon played except for 2003 and her final year in 2006. In 2003, Becky played in just 11 games after suffering a knee injury early in the season. The Liberty fell short of the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.
1999: The Liberty finished as the best in the East with a record of 18-14.
New York made it all the way to the WNBA Finals before falling to the Houston Comets (2-1).
2000: The Liberty finished first in the Eastern Conference for the second-straight year at 20-12, and fell to the Houston Comets again (2-0) in the WNBA Finals.
Hammon averaged 9.4 points and 2.1 assists in the playoffs.
2002: The Liberty finished first in the Eastern Conference for third time in four years and faced the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA Finals, but lost 2-0.
Hammon had 9.9 points and 2.0 assists throughout the playoffs with 22.9 minutes per game.
2003 & 2005: Selected as WNBA All-Star with the Liberty. In 2003, she was chosen as a reserve by the coaches but did not play because of her ACL injury. In 2005, she was voted a starter.
2004-2005: Hammon led the Liberty in total points, 3-pointers made, steals, minutes.
2004: Captain Becky Hammon led the Liberty into the postseason where it lost in the Conference Finals (2-0) to the Connecticut Sun.
Hammon averaged 10.6 points and 3.5 assists throughout the playoffs.
2005: The Liberty made the playoffs but fell in the first round to Indiana Fever (2-0).
Hammon average 11.5 points and 2.0 assists in that series.
Becky Moments:
May 19th, 1999: The Liberty signed Becky Hammon as a free agent out of Colorado State.
Hammon holds the Colorado State record for points, points per game, field goals, free throws made, 3-pointers, steals and assists. She led them to NCAA tournament appearances in 1996, 1998 and in 1999 when the Rams made it to the Sweet 16. In 2004, she was inducted into the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
June 6th, 2003 – Recorded 1,000 career point
September 28, 2004 vs. Detroit : Game-winning assist to Bethany Donaphin in Game 3 of Eastern Conference Semifinals to lead the Liberty into the Conference Finals.
August 16, 2005- Eclipsed 2,000th career point mark
May 30, 2006 vs. Indiana: Beats first half shot clock with half court shot
3X WNBA All-Star with Liberty: 2003, 2005, 2006
Liberty Highs
June 6, 2003: 33 points in 70-60 win at Minnesota.
June 10, 2003: 28 points in 73-65 victory vs. Cleveland.
September 16, 2004: 28 points in 77-71 win vs. Indiana to bring Liberty to 16-16 on the season.
July 20th, 2004: 10 assists in 80-74 win at Charlotte.
July 5th, 2005: 10 assists in 67-55 win at Los Angeles.