Born to play basketball, 29-year-old captain of the WNBA’s New York Liberty Becky Hammon is an inspiration to young basketball fans across the country. Savvy Miss took a look at Hammon’s rise to fame in a professional sport that was once exclusive to men.

Say the words “WNBA All-Star” and most people will picture a daunting Amazon who spent her teens playing in basketball competitions each summer, attended college at a sports powerhouse and, at the end of her senior year, was a first-round Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft pick. There are certainly enough women in the league who fit that description.

But keep looking and you’ll find Hammon, a 5’6” guard and team captain for the New York Liberty, who grew up in South Dakota, a state that didn’t have an organized girls’ basketball league or even a college that played at the Division I level. What she did have on her side was a sports-loving family who always fostered her dreams. Growing up, she played pick up games in the driveway with her older brother and his friends. Her father, Martin, still marvels at the thought that although the boys dreamed of pro sports careers, it’s his little girl who not only achieved it, but also became a star at the “world’s most famous arena,” Madison Square Garden.