Aces coach praises Bill Russell; guard wins weekly honor

The reverence in Becky Hammon’s voice was easy to hear. Speaking after the Aces’ 94-69 win Sunday against the Indiana Fever, the Aces coach was asked about the impact of Bill Russell, the 11-time NBA Champion and social justice advocate.

“He’s somebody who’s impact on the game is hard to quantify,” said Hammon, whose team visits the Washington Mystics on Tuesday.

Russell, 88, died Sunday. His list of basketball achievements seem to go on for an eternity. He won two NCAA championships with the University of San Francisco, a gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and 11 titles with the Boston Celtics. In 1966, he was named player-coach, becoming the first Black coach in NBA history.

However, Hammon believes basketball was the least important part of Russell’s legacy. The Hall of Fame center pioneered athlete activism. He was at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom with Martin Luther King Jr., showed support for Muhammad Ali after the the boxer refused to fight in the Vietnam War and held an integrated basketball camp in Jackson, Mississippi, in honor of Medgar Evers after the the civil rights activist was assassinated.

In 2011, Russell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. Hammon called him, “The ultimate winner, on and off the court.”

“I’m so very sad to hear of his passing, but what a legacy,” Hammon said. “What a legacy to leave — not only for people, but the legacy he left in people, because that’s really how you carry it on to the next generation.”

Plum wins again

For the second time this season, Kelsey Plum has been named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week.

In two games between July 28-31, Plum averaged 24 points on 73.9-percent shooting from the field. She also connected on 75 percent of her 3s as the Aces beat the Indiana Fever twice.

“She can get going, and get going quickly,” Hammon said.

Plum’s 94 made 3-pointers this season is the most of any WNBA player not named Diana Taurasi. The Phoenix Mercury legend holds the record with 121 3-pointers during the 2006 season.

While Plum chases Taurasi, she set a franchise record Sunday by scoring 19 points during the third quarter of the Aces win against a short-handed Fever squad. It’s the most points a player has ever scored during one quarter in franchise history.

Plum already had one hand on the achievement entering Sunday. Her 17 points during the fourth quarter of a game against the Los Angeles Sparks Aug. 31, 2019, tied her with two separate Hammon performances for the franchise record. The Aces coach expects Plum to break more of her records before the season ends.

“That’s what she’s out there for,” Hammon said. “She’s been breaking records her whole career, whether that’s in college or pros, she’s just going to continue to roll.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.