On Thursday, Oct. 9, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Erik Spoelstra will replace Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr as the next coach for Team USA.
During a recent news conference, Kerr shared his thoughts on Spoelstra taking the reins for the national team.
“Just watching him the last two summers and getting to know him up close rather than just from afar where I’ve admired him for so long, I got a first-hand glimpse at what a coach he is,” Kerr said. “And I think the assistant coaching is almost a prerequisite for coaching USA. It’s really a different job. And now he has that experience just like I did with Pop, you know, in the World Cup in ’19 and the Olympics in ’21. (He’s the) perfect choice. He’s gonna be great.”
Spoelstra is widely considered to be the best coach in the NBA. He’s an elite tactician, consistently producing high-level alterations, both during games and between games. He also has championship experience, is great at developing talent, building relationships and holding his guys accountable.
Team USA has been fortunate to have an abundance of elite coaches, and with Kerr stepping down from the role, Spoelstra was the perfect choice.
Kerr Made History With Team USA
Kerr led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. His success in that tournament made him the first person to ever win an Olympic gold medal (in basketball) as both a player and head coach. He won gold in 1986 as a player.
Now, Spoelstra will have the opportunity to implement his style of basketball on the Team USA roster as he chases further success with the international team. There is clearly a coaching pipeline in place, so all eyes will likely turn to who steps into the lead assistant role on Spoelstra’s staff, much like he did under Kerr.
Kerr Ensuring Warriors Training Camp Is Intense
With Team USA no longer part of Kerr’s coaching workload, his full attention will be on ensuring the Warriors are ready to push for a championship in the upcoming season. Therefore, it’s fair to assume that Golden State’s training camp has been at an elite level, both in terms of intensity and execution.
During a recent news conference, Stephen Curry explained how the intensity in practice is a carry-over from what the roster was doing toward the end of last season.
“They all are intense, and they should be,” Curry said. “I think there’s it’s just a different element this year. Maybe, just because outside of championship years, when you’re coming back, this is the continuity of how we ended last year into this year. It is probably at a high in the sense of understanding what we need to do to carry the momentum that we had last year.”
Curry continued.
“So there are all sorts of balances, you know, trying to get us to have 39-year-olds all the way down to 21-year-olds. You’ve got to balance like the teaching element and the preparation on fundamentals and details with also getting in shape, creating that vibe that we can be a winning team from jump. And combining that know-how with the youth that we have, it’s been pretty fun.”
The Warriors are currently 2-0 in preseason. They’ve looked sharp, focused and resilient. They will be back in action for their third preseason game on Sunday, Oct. 12, where they will face the Los Angeles Lakers for the second time. Of course, the hope is that any momentum Kerr’s team builds during the preseason will carry over to the upcoming campaign.
After all, the focus is a championship, not an unbeaten preseason record.
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