USA Basketball is expected to hire Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat as the next head coach of the men’s national team, sources tell ESPN.
Spoelstra succeeds Steve Kerr for the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics after serving as lead assistant on Team USA’s gold medal-winning 2024 team.
This will be the fourth consecutive Olympics where Team USA will have a different coach: Mike Krzyzewski was the coach in 2016, followed by Gregg Popovich and Kerr.
Team USA general manager Grant Hill chose Spoelstra. Hill has established an internal infrastructure for Team USA’s training cycles: Kerr was one of Popovich’s top assistants before becoming head coach, and Kerr will now transfer the position to Spoelstra.
Spoelstra is a two-time NBA champion as head coach of 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 wins in Heat history.
Team USA won the gold medal in men’s basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympics, defeating France 98-87 in the final. It was the U.S. team’s fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal and 17th overall.
Team USA could see considerable turnover from the team that won gold in Paris. Kevin Durant, the only four-time gold medalist in the history of men’s Olympic basketball, has not ruled out playing again in 2028. Stephen Curry has indicated that the Paris Games will be his one and only Olympic career, and LeBron James will be 43 years old at the Los Angeles Games.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Dallas’ Anthony Davis and Phoenix’s Devin Booker, all previous gold medalists, would likely all have a strong chance of playing in 2028 if they wanted to wear the national team jersey again. There will also likely be 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 among those under consideration.
Previously, USA Basketball finalized a deal to make Duke coach Kara Lawson the women’s national team coach for the Olympic cycle through the Los Angeles Games.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
