USA Basketball is expected to hire the Miami Heat‘s Erik Spoelstra as the next head coach of the men’s national team, sources told ESPN.
Spoelstra succeeds Steve Kerr for the 2027 World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics after serving as a lead assistant on Team USA’s 2024 gold medal squad.
This will be fourth straight Olympics that Team USA has a different coach: Mike Krzyzewski was the coach in 2016, followed by Gregg Popovich and Kerr.
Team USA managing director Grant Hill decided upon Spoelstra. Hill has set an internal infrastructure for Team USA’s coaching cycles: Kerr was a top assistant for Popovich before becoming head coach, and now Kerr will transfer the job to Spoelstra.
Spoelstra is a two-time NBA champion as a head coach with the Heat, leading the franchise to six NBA Finals appearances. The longest tenured active head coach in the NBA, Spoelstra has the fifth-most playoff wins in NBA history and the most victories in Heat history.
Team USA won the men’s basketball gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, defeating France 98-87 in the final. It was Team USA’s fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal and 17th overall.
Team USA could feature considerable turnover from the team that won gold in Paris. Kevin Durant, the only four-time gold medalist in men’s Olympic basketball history, hasn’t ruled out playing one more time in 2028. Stephen Curry indicated that the Paris Games would be his one and only Olympic run, and LeBron James will be 43 when the Los Angeles Games are held.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Dallas’ Anthony Davis and Phoenix’s Devin Booker, all previous gold medalists, would all likely have strong chances to play in 2028 if they’d like to wear the national team jersey again. There also will likely be some first-time selections for the Olympic team, with Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg sure to be among those under consideration.
Previously, USA Basketball finalized an agreement to make Duke coach Kara Lawson the coach of the women’s national team for the Olympic cycle through the Los Angeles Games.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
