A new era for USA Basketball has begun as Steve Kerr was announced as the new head coach of the Men’s National team. Managing Director of USA Basketball, Grant Hill officially made the announcement pending the USA Basketball Board of Directors approval.
“I felt he was the right guy, the right person who is uniquely qualified for this role and this responsibility,” Hill said. “USA Basketball has a number of stakeholders, and so making sure that it’s discussed and everyone was on board, which thankfully happened, so that took some time to get to this point, (but) Steve was my number one choice.”
Joining Kerr’s staff will be Erik Spolestra of the Miami Heat, Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns and Gonzaga University head coach Mark Few.
“With today’s announcement, our men’s national basketball team begins its quest for 2023 FIBA World Cup and 2024 Olympic gold,” said retired Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, USA Basketball Chairperson. “On behalf of everyone associated with USA Basketball, I want to thank these four great coaches for stepping up to lead the young men who will proudly wear USA into international competition.”
Kerr has enjoyed great success both in amateur and professional basketball. His list of accolades includes eight NBA Championships, five as a player with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs and three as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. In college he played for the University of Arizona Wildcats and led them to a berth in the 1988 NCAA Final Four. He was also a member of the last amateur team to win a FIBA World Cup.
For Team USA only a gold medal will suffice on the international stage, and Kerr recognizes the enormity of the moment.
“This is truly humbling when I think about how few coaches have ever had this opportunity to be the coach of the Olympic team and USA Basketball, and how many amazing candidates there are out there. I have been very, very blessed,” Kerr said.
A veteran of USA basketball, Kerr was an assistant coach for the 2017-21 USA Basketball Men’s National Team. Kerr was part of Popovich’s gold medal winning coaching staff for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, and the 2019 USA National Team that competed in the FIBA World Cup in China. The U.S. lost to France in the quarterfinals.
Kerr stands alone as the only person in the history of USA Basketball to have earned a gold medal as a player and coach in a FIBA senior-level competition, having won gold with the 1986 World Cup team.
Kerr will lead the USA National Team in through 2024, which will include all USA Men’s National Team training camps, and, if the USA qualifies, the 2023 FIBA World Cup that is scheduled to be held in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from Aug. 25-Sept. 10, 2023, and the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
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