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SIGNING Becky Hammon as an assistant coach again has left little doubt the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs are staying ahead of the curve.

Coach Gregg Popovich was impressed with Hammon last year when she spent time with the Spurs while rehabbing her torn left ACL, attending their practices, coaches meetings and games.

Popovich asked her for input then and clearly liked the insights the dual-Olympian offered.

“I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff,” he said with the Spurs’ announcement this week that Hammon would become the first fulltime female assistant coach of an NBA team.

“Having observed her working with our team this past season, I'm confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs.”

Hammon, 37, has been the playmaker with the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars since 2007 since breaking into the league with New York Liberty in 1999.

She enjoyed a stellar college career at Colorado State University and in 1998 represented the USA at the 1998 William Jones Cup competition in Taiwan.

The USA won the Gold but after repeatedly being overlooked for subsequent international opportunities, Hammon sought Russian citizenship in 2008.

Russia's coach at the time, Igor Grudin, also was sports director at CSKA Moscow where Hammon played during the WNBA off-season.

Her decision led to Russian representation at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games.

Australians following the Beijing Games most likely became aware of her during those Olympics.

Popovich, who is open to international influence as shown by the flavour of his reigning champion, is a trail blazer in the US.

But the NBL is ahead on this one with Michele Timms and Lori Chizik among women who already have worked in assisting capacities in our men’s league.

Opals 2006 World Championship winning coach Jan Stirling also has been head-hunted for such roles previously.

Technically Hammon is the second female on the staff of an NBA team. While working as Cleveland Rockers’ head coach in the WNBA, Lisa Boyer worked part-time with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But Boyer never sat on the bench for games or travel with the Cavs.

Hammon is the first full-time female coach in NBA history.