They may be rivals on the court Wednesday night, but the Dream support Becky Hammon off of it.

The San Antonio guard's decision to play for Russia in the Olympics despite her lack of any former ties to the country has been criticized and analyzed the past several days.

Getty Images (ENLARGE)

Becky Hammon has no Russian ancestry and had never been to the country before signing a contract to play professionally there. Yet under Russian rules, a player who has not played for another country internationally can become a naturalized citizen and then play for the Olympic team.

Your Turn WNBA's Becky Hammon will play for Russia in the summer Olympics. Do you feel she's betraying America?   Yes   No Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

But Dream players believe the backlash, particularly from Team USA Coach Anne Donovan, is unwarranted.

"I don't think she deserves that at all because I've been coached by Anne Donovan, and it wouldn't surprise me the things she's saying about Becky," Dream guard Betty Lennox said. "I'm not going to get into anything. I'm just going to say that's something she would say."

Hammon has asserted to ESPN that even though she desperately wished to represent her country, she was never on the short list of candidates for the U.S. Olympic team.

So when Russia made her an offer to play with its team — along with a reported seven-figure paycheck — Hammon rushed to become a citizen.

"If you play in this country, live in this country, and you grow up in the heartland and you put on a Russian uniform, you are not a patriotic person in my mind," Donovan told ESPN.

Dream forward Kristn Mann acknowledged she hasn't been paying too much attention to the drama but chose to side with her colleague.

"Basketball is basketball," Mann said. " I mean she wants that gold medal, so if it's for her country or it's for another team that's going to provide that for her, then let her play. Let her do what she loves to do."

Lennox said that like Hammon, she dreams of competing in the Olympics. So if another country presented her with an offer, she would most likely jump at the chance to compete.

"I can't say definitely yes, but I want to win a gold medal. Who wouldn't want to win a gold medal to add to their resume?" Lennox said. "I wish Becky the best of luck. I hope she gets a good chance of winning a gold medal because that's all of our dreams."

When the two teams face off tonight in the Philips Arena, Lennox plans to offer some supportive words.

"I'm just going to tell her to keep her head up," Lennox said. "Enjoy your opportunity while you can. Don't worry about what's been said. You made the decision and deal with it."