Everything that Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon has worked for in her basketball career culminated in her team repeating as WNBA champions on Wednesday night. But if she could have picked any team to avoid having to defeat for that title, it probably would have been the New York Liberty.

As a player, Hammon broke into the league with the Liberty and spent eight of her 16 seasons playing for them. With her Aces squad celebrating in the background, Hammon paid tribute to her former team in their home city.

“I mean, I'm in debt, I'm forever indebted to New York. There is zero doubts about that,” the Aces coach gushed to ESPN after Las Vegas took down the Liberty 70-69 in Brooklyn's Barclays Center. “New York gave me my first opportunity, and I am not standing out here without the New York Liberty, there's just zero chance of that.”

Hammon averaged 10.4 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.3 rebounds in her eight seasons as a member of the Liberty. She was named to three WNBA All-Star games with the franchise, and made the All-League second team in 2005.

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In 2015, the Liberty inducted Hammon into their Ring of Honor, reserved for “made the most significant contributions to the Liberty's tradition of excellence and to the growth of the WNBA.” She joined such New York legends as Teresa Weatherspoon and Rebecca Lobo with that feat.

But Hammon did not spare her old team in the Finals. Her Aces, despite a slew of injuries entering Game 4, closed out the series to ensure the WNBA crown would stay in Las Vegas for at least another season.