Becky Hammon was a pioneer when she became the NBA’s first female full-time assistant coach, for the San Antonio Spurs, in 2014. A number of sports commentators now think that she may break another barrier, becoming the league’s first female head coach. Last month, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN that it was his responsibility to ensure that a woman gets the job “sooner rather than later,” and the Spurs’ head coach, Gregg Popovich, has said that Ms. Hammon would be well equipped for a team’s top spot.

For now, however, Ms. Hammon has more immediate concerns. On Thursday night, the Spurs won their series against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA playoffs. This Monday they will face the Houston Rockets in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals.

A former college and WNBA star, Ms. Hammon, 40, is small for the sport, as she herself acknowledges. “I can’t help it if God only made me 5-foot-6,” she says. “I would’ve loved to have been 6 feet, but…you kind of develop and evolve what you need to evolve.”

She has been playing basketball since she was in kindergarten in Rapid City, S.D. Her father coached her club and recreational teams. When she asked him if she’d ever be able to play in the NBA, he told her no. When she asked him if she’d ever be able to dunk the ball, he again told her no. The challenge helped to motivate her.

Her father also gave her advice that has stuck with her: Because she was smaller than the other players, he told her, “Don’t try to be in the air too much. Just be on the ground and rule the ground.”