A new challenge awaits Steve Kerr in his illustrious coaching career as he was selected to be the next men's national team coach for USA Basketball. The Golden State Warriors head coach will replace Gregg Popovich and lead a new coaching staff whose task is to make Team USA win the gold medal in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Grant Hill goes with Steve Kerr for first hire
A formal announcement is expected soon regarding the new coaching set-up, the first major decision by new USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill. He replaced the highly successful Jerry Colangelo, who retired following Team USA's win in Tokyo. Hill has some big shoes to fill with Colangelo, the architect of four Olympic gold-medal winning teams with Mike Krzyzewski and Popovich.
Kerr served as an assistant coach on Popovich's gold-medal-winning staff in this year's Tokyo Olympics. He is a three-time champion coach with the Warriors, who currently own the best record in the NBA this season. Kerr, who also served as Popovich's assistant in the 2019 World Cup, can become the first NBA head coach to guide Team USA in multiple Olympics.
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Kerr surrounded by talented assistants for gold medal bid
Kerr will have a great help for this three-year project with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams, and Gonzaga coach Mark Few set to be named his assistants for Team USA.
Williams has some experience with this coaching position as he was a member of Krzyzewski's gold medal staff in the 2016 Rio Olympics. He led the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals this year, where they lost in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Spoelstra is one of the best head coaches in the NBA right now, having won two championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013. He helped Team USA in its preparations for the Tokyo Games, serving as coach of the Select Team in Las Vegas. Spoelstra's side helped to condition Team USA for the Olympics by playing exhibition games in Las Vegas.
Few is the only assistant on Kerr's staff that is currently a college coach. He was an assistant to the Select Teams that helped Team USA in the buildup to the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He was also one of Popovich's nine assistants during Team USA's minicamp in Las Vegas back in 2018.
Few served as the United States' head coach at the 2015 Pan American Games, with Team USA finishing in third place. Few was also an assistant coach for Billy Donovan when the United States took home the gold medal at the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Tournament.
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