Who is A’ja Wilson, Aces Coach Becky Hammon’s Wife? All you Need to Know About Brenda Milano

A’ja Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon continues her meteoric rise in the coaching world as she prepares to face the NY Liberty in this season’s WNBA Finals. The former WNBA star spent 7 years with the Liberty and looks to upset her former team during Game 1 this coming week. While her rise to coaching stardom has been swift winning the league in her very first season, the 6x WNBA All-Star has gone through many ordeals to get where she is today. Having infamously traded her national allegiance to the Russian basketball team during the 2008 Olympics Hammon was branded as a traitor for her decision as her then coach Anne Donovan questioned her patriotism stating, “If you play in this country, live in this country, and you grow up in the heartland and you put on a Russian uniform, you are not a patriotic person in my mind.” This particular incident garnered plenty of negative criticism towards Hammon with her being left out of the U.S women’s national team try outs by her coach being a forgotten fact.

While Hammon has since then proved her loyalty to her homeland in various instances including her support for Britney Griner’s release from Russia. The 46-year-old continued to suffer a barrage of misfortunes post 2008 as she tore her ACL during a game against the Los Angeles Sparks in 2013. This injury was a turning point in her career as she was able to focus on her coaching, often attending the San Antonio Spurs practice and coach meetings since she played for the now dissolved San Antonio Stars at the time. Her time there meant she learnt under the stewardship of the great Gregg Popovich soon becoming the assistant coach for his side and remaining there for 8 seasons before taking the role of a head coach with the Las Vegas Aces. Despite many struggles Hammon has been able to rise from adversity while making a name for herself wherever she goes. While many individuals know of her work on the court her life off it remains a mystery, although her relationship with Brenda Milano is common knowledge not many know much about the former basketballer either leading many to ponder on Who is Brenda Milano?

?All you need to know about Brenda Milano

While many believe that Becky Hammon and Brenda Milano are married the true nature of their relationship still remains a secret with the couple not so fond of making public statements. Despite the secrecy of their relationship the couple still are together and are parents to two sons Cayden and Samuel and like her spouse Brenda Milano too is a basketballer turned coach. Milano was born and raised in Boonton, New Jersey and was brought up in a traditional Christian household. Although not much about her family is known Brenda attended Wagner College a Liberal Arts institute in Staten Island where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. It is during her time here that Milano started playing basketball making a record as an All-Conference athlete.

Taking a serious interest in the sport, the New Jersey native dived deeper into the game during her sophomore year as she won many accolades during the course of the season including NEC Rookie of the Week awards and the NEC All-Newcomer. Inducted into the college Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility Milano was a celebrated player in college and graduated school with a record of 1,046 points, 382 assists and 148 steals in 84 career games. While the statistics may seem great injuries hampered Brenda’s career as she retired from the game after her time in Wagner. The abrupt end of her career pushed her towards a different trajectory and like Hammon she too began a coaching role but not before earning her master’s degree in Sports Management from Seton Hall University. Throughout her time in Seton Hall, the former B.Sc. student served as a graduate assistant and was with the collegiate side for a period of two years before moving to Long Island and becoming the assistant coach at Hofstra University. During her time here Milano also served as the university’s recruiting coordinator before taking her talents to St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York in 2003.

It is here that Brenda had her first shot as the head coach of a particular team replacing Christine Cunningham to take charge of the Terriers. Having only won 2 games prior to Milano’s takeover her first year at Francis was mediocre to say the least as she managed to record 8 wins out of 19. While the numbers were not pretty in her first season Milano continued to put effort into the team and achieved her best record during the 2006-07 season as she recorded 13 wins and 18 losses. Spending 9 years in Brooklyn Brenda finished her stint with the Terriers with a 58-201 record where she guided the side to three NEC playoff appearances. Despite not having an impact like her spouse, Milano continues to coach and train young athletes in San Antonio Texas today. Alongside being a wife, a mother to 2 kids and a basketball coach the former NEC star is also a personal trainer and continues to promote health and well-being to this day. Having met Hammon in 2010 the couple reportedly married in 2015 and have been together since.

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Becky Hammon guides A’ja Wilson to second consecutive WNBA Finals

While Brenda Milano was a pretty successful coach during her time her accolades pale in comparison to Hammon who has already won the WNBA title in her first season. Having learned extensively under the guidance of Gregg Popovich, Hammon repaid the faith shown to her by the Las Vegas Aces as she was given her first head coach role by the franchise last season. Winning the WNBA title and the Commissioners Cup in her first season in charge the 46-year-old turned many heads with her team’s performance last season with the Toronto Raptors allegedly looking to sign her in the coming months.

Despite heavy interest from many NBA and WNBA teams Hammon looks set to feature in her second consecutive WNBA Final this year as the Aces look to retain their title against the NY Liberty. With yet another MVP season looking likely for A’ja Wilson her transformation into a certified superstar is mostly down to Hammon who has been able to get the best out of the former NCAA champion during her short stint in Vegas. Now facing her former team, the NY Liberty in the Finals will Brenda Milano support her home state, or do you think her allegiance lies with her spouse’s team? Let us know in the comments below.

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