According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is expected to be named the next national coach of USA Basketball.
Kerr, 56, served as an assistant for USA Basketball under Gregg Popovich for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where USA took home gold.
If the appointment becomes official, Kerr will be the fifth coach to lead USA Basketball in the 21st Century. He’ll join Rudy Tomjanovich, Larry Brown, Mike Krzyzewski and Popovich as Team USA head coaches.
According to Wojnarowski, Kerr’s coaching staff will include Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and Gonzaga head coach Mark Few.
Grant Hill, the managing director of USA Basketball, is leading the decision on staffing. Kerr was an executive with the Phoenix Suns for three seasons when Hill played in Phoenix.
Since he was hired as Golden State’s head coach in 2015, Kerr has amassed a 397-175 record — the highest winning percentage (.694) among active coaches and third-highest ever. He’s coached two All-Star Games, won the 2016 NBA Coach of the Year and helped guide GSW to three titles.
Kerr values coaching some of the best players in the game and the connections that come with it. He also has plenty of international basketball experience. In 1986, Kerr was a member of the last fully amateur USA team to capture a gold medal in FIBA play. Kerr blew out his knee while representing America, though, forcing him to miss a season at Arizona.
The next major international tournaments Team USA will compete in are the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Team USA has won the gold medal in every Olympics since the Dream Team in 1992 except for 2004.