SPRINGFIELD, Mass — Melissa Martinez made sure she was not going to miss out on witnessing her former WNBA San Antonio Stars teammate, Becky Hammon, enter the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Martinez was a 13-year Stars staffer and got an up-close view of watching Hammon grow as a player and more.
"She's a trailblazer not just for women's sports or the WNBA but basketball in general," Martinez said.
Hammon has accomplished much since her playing days with the Stars.
She went from being an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, coaching the Spurs Las Vegas Summer League team in 2015 to the new head coach for the WNBA Las Vegas Aces.
Seeing Hammon's journey come full circle to the Hall of Fame means a lot to Martinez who witnessed her trailblazing roots in San Antonio.
And the pair became close friends.
"I actually used to work with the San Antonio Stars for about 13 years. She's a dear friend of mine. I'm just so happy for her and I just had to be here to support her," she said.
Being close to the Spurs organization means a lot for Martinez.
Aside from Hammon's big moment, she also was thrilled for the Spurs organization to see four of its best - Hammon, Pau Gasol, Gregg Popovich, and Tony Parker - make it into the Hall of Fame.
But Hammon was Martinez's personal headliner in a stacked Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
"Just how humble she is. She is an amazing person. Down to Earth," she said.
Hammon's Hall of Fame speech focused on relationships. Whether it was with her family, her grandmother who was in attendance, or her WNBA teammates, she reinforced how much personal relationships mean to her.
She even highlighted her relationship with Popovich and how he propelled her career with the opportunity he gave her in San Antonio.
Martinez knows all about that. She shared a story on how Hammon remembered the little things that matter the most to her when they teamed up with the Silver Stars.
"She would also bake me cupcakes for my birthday. This goes to show the type of player she was. The most humble and down to Earth human being you can meet," said Martinez.
For the native San Antonian who attended Providence High School, traveling thousands of miles to Springfield, Massachusetts, to see Hammon get inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will be something she'll treasure for life.
And she still holds close to her heart some lessons she took from working with Hammon with the Stars.
"The perseverance to work hard and never give up. No matter how tall you are, how fast you are just persevere and dream like she said," Martinez said.
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