Steve Kerr said he does not plan to coach the U.S. men’s basketball team beyond his current deal that runs through the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to The Athletic.
U.S. men’s and women’s head coaches typically serve for one Olympic cycle. In December 2021, Kerr was announced as the U.S. head coach from 2022 to 2024, succeeding Gregg Popovich, who also coached for one Games.
“To me, it’s a two-year; it’s a cycle,” Kerr said, according to The Athletic. “Pop coached a World Cup and the Olympics, now it’s my turn to pass the baton. I think that’s kind of how it should be. Frankly, it’s a huge commitment, too.”
If the tradition continues, the coach who succeeds Kerr will lead the team through the 2028 Los Angeles Games, the first Summer Olympics to be held in the U.S. since 1996.
Another tradition: The last four U.S. men’s head coaches were previously Olympic assistant coaches.
The assistants on Kerr’s staff are Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.
This past summer, Kerr was head coach at the quadrennial FIBA World Cup. The U.S. finished fourth, losing three games at a global championship for the first time since the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The U.S. roster this past summer had zero players with previous Olympic or World Cup experience and zero who made an All-NBA team.
That’s expected to change for the Paris Games.
For one, Kevin Durant, a three-time gold medalist, asserted last month that he will be on the 12-man Olympic team.
