She just happens to be the only Russian player who grew up in South Dakota and attended Colorado State.
Yet here she is in Beijing, an illustration of how the Olympic Games seemingly have adopted a system of free agency for athletes. Hammon's presence in a Russian uniform will become a bigger story next week if her team meets the USA in the medal round.
The American men's team's preliminary matchup with Germany next Monday became intriguing when Michigan-born center Chris Kaman of the Los Angeles Clippers joined the German team, eligible by the country's standards because his great-grandparents were born in Germany.
"I just want to play basketball," Kaman said with his distinct Midwestern accent, while wearing a jersey with "Deutschland" on the front. "It's not like I'm a traitor."
That's a popular response from Americans to Hammon's and Kaman's Olympic choices, even among some WNBA players Hammon competes against in the summer. She stars for San Antonio -- the former Utah Starzz franchise -- yet a misunderstanding resulted in her not applying to play for the U.S. team.
Because she spends the winters playing professionally in Russia, Hammon was offered citizenship and an Olympic shot.
Pittsburgh native J.R. Holden is doing the same thing with the Russian men's team, although his case is less controversial because he has never played in the NBA.
"Doors open and doors shut; this is the door that was opened to me," Hammon said. "This is basketball. This is not World War III or anything."
Saying she's "living the American dream" by playing basketball around the world, Hammon cites "hundreds of athletes" who were born in one country and have competed for another in the Olympics.
The American delegation in Beijing includes 39 foreign-born athletes, although their citizenship motivation likely goes beyond sports in most cases.
Americans had a strong presence for Greece in the 2004 Olympics. As the host, Greece received tournament berths in baseball and softball, sports that are hardly played in the country. So officials recruited athletes with the minimum requirement of having a grandparent of immediate Greek descent. Two former University of Utah players became the starting pitcher and catcher for the softball team.
In contrast, Russia and Germany have plenty of available basketball players.
Only when an interviewer from a German magazine who was detailing the player's family background last winter and mentioned the possibility did Kaman conceive of playing for Germany. Dallas Mavericks center Dirk Nowitzki, a German native, followed through with Kaman in hopes of improving his national team.
After scoring 24 points in only 18 minutes as Germany opened the Olympic tournament by beating Angola, Kaman said, "I just wanted to do something fun this summer."
The only unusual feelings Kaman has encountered came when he thought about the Olympic basketball tradition of having both teams' national anthems played before games. He wondered how he would look with his hand over his heart during "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Kaman remains unfamiliar with the German anthem. Hammon inquired about learning the Russian anthem, but teammates told her "it's too difficult; they don't even understand it," she said, smiling.
