Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is currently in charge of the team with the best record in the NBA. Soon, he’ll also take control of the best national team in the world. USA Basketball is set to name Kerr as the head coach of the men’s national team, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and Gonzaga University coach Mark Few will serve as assistant coaches on Kerr’s staff.
Kerr’s involvement with Team USA dates back to 1986 when he was a player on the team that won the gold medal at the FIBA World Championship in Spain. That was the last American team comprised strictly of amateur players to win a major tournament.
As a coach, Kerr has been working with Team USA since 2018, when he was named an assistant to San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg Popovich. This summer, Kerr was there in Tokyo as the Americans beat France in the final to capture a fourth straight Olympic gold medal.
Given his success at the NBA level, where he’s won five titles as a player and led the Warriors to three more as a coach, and his long experience with Team USA, Kerr has long been seen as the successor to Popovich. Earlier this year, he was asked about the possibility and said it would be an “honor” to take over.
“Of course I’d be interested. I mean, who wouldn’t be?” Kerr said. “I’ll leave it at that. I have no idea how it will all transpire; there are a lot of great candidates out there. And if I were to be considered, that would be an honor.”
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The next major tournament for Kerr and Team USA will be the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which will take place in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. Qualification for that event started earlier this year and will continue until early 2023. Team USA is currently in the first round of qualifying in the Americas region.
A secondary team led by the likes of Isaiah Thomas, Shaquille Harrison and Luke Kornet recently played the first two games, beating Cuba and losing to Mexico. With four games remaining in this stage, Team USA sits in third place out of four in their group, but only needs to finish in the top three to advance.
