Kerr backs Spoelstra as USA coach: “Great choice” for basketball

Kerr Fully Trusts Spoelstra for the Future of American Basketball

In the world of basketball, the transfer of responsibilities between coaches always generates expectations. On this occasion, Steve Kerr, former coach of the United States men’s Olympic team, has expressed his full confidence in Erik Spoelstra, who now leads the team. Kerr, who recently faced Spoelstra, does not doubt his colleague’s ability to face the challenges of leading the national team. According to Kerr, Spoelstra was ready to take on this challenge a long time ago.

“It was a great choice. He is one of the best coaches of all time. He has a great knowledge of what FIBA is, the difference between coaching a team for seven weeks and coaching one for nine months, all that. He has his finger on the pulse of everything. It’s going to be great,” Kerr affirmed.

Steve Kerr

Spoelstra will lead the United States men’s team in the 2027 World Cup in Doha, Qatar, and in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Kerr, for his part, led the Americans in the 2023 World Cup, where they obtained fourth place in Manila, and then in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where they conquered the gold. The road to the 2027 World Cup has already begun. The 12-player team, called up for the first two qualifying matches, will meet to train at the University of Miami before traveling to Nicaragua for their first match on November 28. The qualifying matches will run until March 2027. Spoelstra has not yet contacted Kerr to discuss specific details on how to adapt his NBA approach to international basketball, but he will at some point.

“I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of your team for the last two summers. The whole team had a great time. It was a life experience. It was basketball 101. We all grew, just from the development experience as basketball coaches. It’s the same four lines, two baskets and a basketball, but it’s a different sport, FIBA. And we felt humbled in that first year, and the second year, I think the experiences we had the previous summer helped us for that Olympic experience,” commented Spoelstra.

Erik Spoelstra

The United States has won the last five Olympic gold medals. Spoelstra will be tasked with extending that streak. In Paris, he was able to see firsthand the difficulty of the job, with the Americans coming back from a double-digit deficit against Serbia in the semifinals, and then defending the gold against France, with a stellar performance by Stephen Curry. When the American national anthem sounded in Paris to celebrate the Olympic gold, Kerr turned to Spoelstra and said, “Good luck.” The announcement that Spoelstra would take over the team was more than a year away, but Kerr already seemed to know who should be the next coach. “I was very impressed with Steve in the way he was able to handle everything. We all know there’s a lot of pressure. I think, as part of his genius, he handled it wonderfully. Just getting the team, one, to handle all the expectations, and then getting the team to hit their stride at the right moment and be able to handle adversity like we did against Serbia. I think it was great leadership on his part. That experience will be something I’ll never forget,” added Spoelstra.