The United States men’s basketball team, fresh off of a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, are in the market for a new heard coach. Gregg Popovich took over the team following the end of Mike Krzyzewski’s tenure in 2016, and after finally getting through an Olympic cycle, is headed back to focusing all his time and effort on the San Antonio Spurs.
The obvious question now is who takes over a team that has the expectation of winning every single tournament in which it competes? According to Marc Stein, one name that has emerged from the pack of contenders is Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who has earned the distinction of being “a favorite” for the job.
Golden State's Steve Kerr has emerged as a favorite to succeed San Antonio's Gregg Popovich as head coach for the USA Basketball senior men's national team, league sources say.
Full coverage via my Substack here: https://t.co/81Yto7V3Zb
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 30, 2021
Kerr has ties to the national team as a player and a coach — he was a member of the USA side that won the 1986 FIBA World Championship during his time as a standout at the University of Arizona, while he joined Popovich’s staff and was on the bench during the team’s run to Olympic gold earlier this year. When asked in the aftermath of the team’s win in Tokyo if he’d be interested in being Popovich’s successor by The Athletic, Kerr replied, “Of course I’d be interested. I mean, who wouldn’t be? 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.”
