WNBA star Angel McCoughtry says Becky Hammon taking the Aces' head coaching job shouldn't be looked at as a "step back" ... telling TMZ Sports both the WNBA and the NBA are on "the same level."
"Why is that considered a step back?" the WNBA forward said at LAX this week.
"She's coaching elite women that are just as good as LeBron, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry. These women are just as good."
Hammon became the Las Vegas Aces' HC last month -- and some have perceived it to be a disappointment, considering many believed she deserved to be an NBA HC right now.
After all, she served eight seasons as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio ... and did have interest from NBA teams with vacant head coaching jobs this past offseason.
But, McCoughtry believes going to the WNBA is by no means a "setback" ... telling us straight up, "The WNBA and NBA are not two separate things."
McCoughtry added that she believes Hammon will ultimately end up being the first female HC in the NBA one day regardless.
The 5x WNBA All-Star added that the 44-year-old's new contract with the Aces -- which made her the WNBA's highest-paid coach in history -- should be groundbreaking for female athletes and coaches moving forward.
"Great thing for our league, for her and breaking barriers with the pay," Angel said. "That's a record because at the end of the day, she's opening it up for players to have record contracts as well."
"It's a great thing!"