Americans Shoot Russian Hoops

Becky Hammon was born and raised in South Dakota. But, come August, she’ll be trying to help the Russian women’s basketball team win gold in Beijing.

After the popular, 5’6” WNBA player (San Antonio) was passed over for the U.S. Olympic team (despite being chosen as 2007 Runner-up MVP in the WNBA), she decided to play for the Russian team. She applied for Russian citizenship, was naturalized (her paperwork being “approved quickly by the highest levels of the Russian government,” according to her agent) and will take her hard-driving game to Beijing on behalf of Mother Russia.

Hammon has played for several years for the Russian team CSKA during the WNBA off-season, and has just signed a contract that will have her playing for three more years. In April, she set a new world record for most free throws made in a minute: 38.