After securing Olympic gold in Paris, Steve Kerr is reportedly done as the head coach of the USA Basketball men’s team.
NBA reporter Marc Stein reported on Monday that Kerr is not expected to continue as the team’s head coach. Either Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra or Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is expected to replace him. Both were assistants under Kerr in Paris.
A four-time NBA champion as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Kerr initially joined Team USA as an assistant under Gregg Popovich after the 2016 Olympics. He was on Popovich’s staff when USA Basketball won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. USA Basketball named Kerr as Popovich’s successor in 2021 when Popovich stepped down after Tokyo.
Team USA finished a disappointing fourth in the 2023 FIBA World Cup under Kerr, but bounced back for the Olympic gold medal in Paris with a roster featuring All-Stars LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, who’s won four NBA championships playing for Kerr in Golden State.
USA cruised to double-digit victories in its three group stage games and in the quarterfinals against Brazil. It then won a tight semifinal game against a Serbian team featuring three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić in the semifinals and fended off a rally from host France and Victor Wembanyama in the gold-medal game.
Team USA finished 6-0 in Paris for the program’s fifth consecutive gold medal. Kerr joined Popovich, Rudy Tomjanovich, Lenny Wilkens and Chuck Daly as the only coaches to win an NBA championship and lead a team to an Olympic gold medal as head coach.
Kerr’s expected replacement will take over Team USA for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 with an NBA championship on his head coaching résumé. Spoelstra’s led the Miami Heat to a 750-527 (.587) record in 17 seasons as head coach. He’s coached the Heat to six NBA Finals including back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
Lue has a 312-217 (.590) record as an NBA head coach with the Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers. He coached James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA championship over Kerr’s Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Source Agencies
