Becky Hammon is an All-American in Russian gear.

Left off Team USA, the WNBA star has taken considerable heat for playing for the Russian National Team during the Beijing Games. But Hammon, as do several WNBA players who also play overseas, has a passport for another country. That gave her an option, and she took it.

Hammon told reporters this week her decision has nothing to do with love of country. "I just want to play basketball," she said.

Monarchs Nicole Powell and Ticha Penicheiro – both Russian League veterans – say more power to her.

Powell, Hammon's CSKA teammate during the winter season in Moscow, vigorously defends her longtime friend.

"She's one of the most red-blooded Americans I know, a great person and great role model," Powell said. "But this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal. …

"In women's basketball, the Olympics is the highest thing anybody can achieve. Becky has worked very, very hard in her career. Why not play for Russia? It doesn't mean she's not American."

Hammon, who grew up in South Dakota, is used to obstacles. After setting several school records at Colorado State, she went undrafted in the WNBA despite making five 1999 All-America teams. The scrappy guard landed a job with the New York Liberty and helped her team win two Eastern Conference titles.

Now the leader of the San Antonio Silver Stars, Hammon was the runner-up for 2007 WNBA MVP honors. Yet she was not among the original 30 invitees to the United States Olympic training camp.

Like many WNBA players, Hammon spends seven months each year overseas and has a passport from her second homeland. She recently signed a four-year contract with CSKA Moscow reportedly worth $2 million. Her annual Russian pay is more than five times what she makes per WNBA season. Her basketball credentials overseas are unquestioned.

Six members of Team Russia are WNBA veterans, and the entire team speaks fluent English.

"This door opened, and it was a great opportunity," Hammon told reporters this week in Beijing. "My career has been about taking hold of opportunities and learning with them. I've had a lot of people pass on me. I wasn't drafted. I wasn't heavily recruited. I didn't go to a big college. So I'm used to people telling me no. But there are always other ways. So, I'm very grateful to the Russian team to accept me as one of their own."

The reaction in this country has not been so warm. This week, an ESPN.com story on Hammon drew more than 400 comments, mostly critical.

Team USA head coach Anne Donovan called Hammon "a traitor" and unpatriotic. But the point guard has the backing of her league boss, WNBA President Donna Orender.

"There's a lot of emotion over the Russia-U.S. dynamic," Orender said before the Games. "But Becky wanted an Olympic experience."

There's hoop history behind the U.S.-Russia rivalry. Since the Olympics added women's basketball in 1976, every gold medal has been won either by the Americans (five) or a Moscow-based squad (twice by the Soviet Union and once by the Unified team).

Hammon admits the Russia factor ires Americans.

"If I played for a small country that nobody had ever heard of, it would be different," she said.

But no matter the uniform, she's playing in the Olympics, and that's what matters to her.

"I could either have gone home and sat on the couch and watched the Olympics on TV or come here and taken part," she said. "And for me, I love playing basketball, and I love my teammates, and this is a great opportunity to encourage them and make friendships with people all around the world. That's what the whole sporting thing is about, isn't it?"

Call The Bee's Debbie Arrington, (916) 326-5514.