SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — It’s one of the biggest stages in women’s sports and two South Dakotans are in the thick of it.
Becky Hammon, a Rapid City Stevens graduate, and Nate Tibbetts, a graduate of Sioux Falls Roosevelt, are the head coaches for the two WNBA teams playing in the finals Friday. Hammon is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces. Tibbetts is the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury.
“That is so cool,” retired girls basketball coach Jim Bridge said of the two head coaches. “To have two head coaches in the finals is pretty rare. I’m just tickled and proud for all us from South Dakota.”
Bridge retired in 2024 from Hanson schools as the winningest girls basketball coach in South Dakota. He and his wife are “basketball junkies” and have noted the success of Tibbetts and Hammon over the years.
“It goes back to work ethic and the type of players there are in South Dakota,” retired University of South Dakota men’s basketball Dave Boots said of some reasons why two South Dakotans are head coaches in the WNBA. As a coach, “I had a lot of respect for the state and the players that came through here,” Boots said of South Dakota basketball and other sports programs.
Bridge agreed on the work ethic the state fosters for players and future coaches.
Boots coached Tibbetts at USD. Tibbetts was a starting point guard at USD from his mid-redshirt freshman season through his senior year. He graduated in 2001. He was inducted into the USD Hall of Fame in 2014. Before USD, Tibbetts played in high school while in Jefferson and during this junior and senior years at Roosevelt where he set the then assists record with 366.
Hammon was named the South Dakota Player of the Year while at Rapids City Stevens. She was a 3-time All American at Colorado State University. Hammon was named to the university’s hall of fame in 2004.
The two were in high school and college for nearly the same years. While Tibbetts was working his way through the college coaching ranks, Hammon was drafted into the WNBA and other professional leagues. Tibbetts was name an NBA assistant in Cleveland in 2011. Hammon was named an NBA in San Antonio in 2014. Tibbetts became the Mercury head coach in 2024. Hammon was named the Aces head coach in 2022.
Boots and South Dakota State University women’s basketball head coach Aaron Johnston have been able to watch the success of Hammon and Tibbetts over the past several years.
“It’s fun for our players to follow,” Johnston said of the two coaches and the WNBA. For players who may have aspirations of coaching, it shows that options are not limited. There’s pride in knowing that two coaches come from South Dakota.
Tibbetts as a player; Mercury assistant SDSU grad Megan Vogel
Megan Vogel, a graduate of SDSU, is an assistant coach for the Mercury. She joined the team after a successful coaching term at the University of Wisconsin in Green Bay.
“She thinks like a head coach,” Johnston said of his former player. “She is very much a problem solver.”
What separates good assistants from “really good” assistants is the ability to solve problems and be creative, Johnston said.
He wasn’t surprised Vogel was interested in joining Tibbetts in Phoenix. Vogel had the talent to take the next step.
Boots said he expected his point guards to act “kind of like coaches on the floor.” Tibbetts filled that role. USD had many smart players during Tibbetts’ time and “he was certainly at the high end,” Boots said.
He and Tibbetts still stay in touch which includes visits and texting. Tibbetts has continued to mature and learned from his coaching roles throughout his career, Boots said.
“His team responds to him very well. They listen to him,” Boots said.
Rapid City Stevens for Hammon
The girls basketball program at Rapid City Stevens High Schools “has absolutely” followed Hammon’s career, said head coach Adam Dannenbring said.
Hammon has had success at the professional level but she was also formidable player at Stevens high school. But, even her records were broken.
“Last year when Taaliyah Porter broke the school (scoring) record Hammon was here and posed for a photo with her,” Dannenbring said.
Dannenbring said he wasn’t surpised Hammon visited the school for the broken record. “She still has roots here in Rapid City. She has family here,” he said.
Hammon gives back to the Rapid City community, Dannenbring said. And “She means a lot to Rapid City,” he said.
“She’s a good role model. She’s a great example for our girls,” Dannenbring said.
Dannenbring is from DeSmet where Tibbetts’ father Fred, a successful girls basketball coach, is from. Dannenbring knows Nate Tibbetts and Hammon.
Both, had great role models in coaching, he said.
Hammon’s high school coach was Ron Riherd, a successful coach, Dannenbring said. “She also had very good coaches going up the ranks,” he said. That includes working with Gregg Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs.
Tibbetts had a good coaching role model in his own household with his dad who coached at Roosevelt in Sioux Falls, Dannebring said.
“They both love basketball and they both have a high work ethic,” Dannenbring said. “It’s great to see them have success.”
A big stage is getting bigger
So far, it appears the national media has picked up on the South Dakota connection between Hammon and Tibbetts.
Bridge thinks that it’s only a matter of time before it does. He compared it to when national broadcasts of Green Bay Packer games mention that tight end Tucker Kraft is from Timber Lake, South Dakota. But, the state can also get overlooked, Bridge said.
The retired coach has a couple of stories of how a Division I major college coach was surprised at least two times by the calibre of basketball play in the state.
The WNBA finals will get attention in South Dakota and on a national level, the attention has been growing.
The league started with 16 teams in 2002. Attendance was more than 2 million during the first season but attendance declined after a few years although single game attendance records were set in 2004 and 2007. Several teams folded after the league started and it now has 12 teams. But, spurred by the popularity of some younger players like Caitlin Clark, there is an attendance and viewership growth spurt.
The WNBA has posted two-back-to-back seasons with explosive gains in attendance and TV viewership. The WNBA averaged drew more than 2.3 million in 2024 and drew more than 2.5 million fans to more than 226 total games this season. ESPN networks alone averaged 1.3 million viewers for regular season games this season.
The WNBA plans to add more teams to grow to 18 by 2030.
“Exposure is really important,” Johnston said of women’s basketball. “Now, with the WNBA’s growth and expansion it will be adding more teams.”
The expansion will create more coaching opportunities for former college players such as Vogel.
More teams also means “more opportunities to play,” Johnston said.
South Dakota knows fan support, success
Johnston said support for girls and women’s basketball in South Dakota breeds success.
“At a really young age these girls get exposed to basketball at really high level,” Johnston said. The high level of play includes SDSU and USD programs but also the NCAA Division II teams and the NAIA teams, he said.
“So many girls go on to play at the college level,” Johnston said.
And at the high school level, “in the dead of winter” in small towns across the state the gym is full of basketball fans, Johnston said.
Boots said small South Dakota towns have fostered successful teams and athletes.
Hammon and Tibbetts join other players and coaches like Mike Miller and Kalen DeBoer and others who have experienced success on a national level, Boots said.
Big state but it’s still a small state
Although the state’s population is growing, it is still under 1 million people. The connections between state residents and the two coaches are layered.
Johnston’s wife played high school basketball with Hammon. The two former teammates have seen each other at different events over the years, he said.
Bridge recently saw Tibbett’s mom at a state hall of fame event. Former Mercury assistant Matt Wilber is now the head men’s basketball coach at Northern State in Aberdeen. Wilbur’s children attended school in Hanson while Bridge and his wife taught there while Wilber was coaching in Phoenix.
