Team USA Basketball

Steve Kerr hopes to coach Kevin Durant once again during the 2024 Olympic cycle.

Speaking to reporters before the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Golden State Warriors 143-113 on Wednesday night, Kerr was asked about Durant possibly playing for Team USA during the Paris Games.

"That would be nice," the Warriors head coach said. "I mean, he's been so dominant with Team USA and like I said, he's a guy who just, he loves to play. So we're hoping he decides to keep going.

Kerr also joked he would "most likely" pull Durant aside to pitch him on the idea.

Kerr was named USA Basketball head coach in December. He is taking over for Gregg Popovich, who led the Americans to an Olympic gold medal during the Tokyo Games.

The Warriors head coach was an assistant on Popovich's staff during the 2020 Olympics. He played for the Team USA squad that won the FIBA World Championship in 1986.

Durant has not committed to playing for the U.S. team in 2024. The 12-time All-Star told reporters after Wednesday's game he's open to representing the United States in the Olympics again, but it's too early to make a decision.

The 2020 Olympics marked the third time Durant won a gold medal with Team USA. He averaged 20.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in six starts during the run in Tokyo. The Americans defeated France, 87-82, in the gold medal game.

Durant is tied with Carmelo Anthony for most Olympic gold medals won by an American men's basketball player. He will be 35 years old during the Paris Games.

If Durant does play for the United States, he will be reunited with Kerr as his head coach for the first time since leaving the Warriors after the 2018-19 season.

Golden State played in the NBA Finals in each of Durant's three seasons with the team. The Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18, with Durant being named Finals MVP both times.

It's safe to say USA Basketball isn't a fan of Spain's move to No. 1 in the men's FIBA rankings.

The organization responded to the development with some social media shade:

USA is No. 2 in the latest rankings, while Australia, Argentina and France round out the top five.

It is a historic moment for Spain. FIBA's website explained this is the first time a nation besides the United States has held the No. 1 spot since the introduction of the rankings after the 2002 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

FIBA pointed to Spain's "consistency in recent years in each game of each competition" as the main reason for the jump. It won the 2019 World Cup and FIBA EuroBasket 2022, while the United States lost in the quarterfinals of the World Cup and finished in third place at the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup.

While the United States has won the last four Olympic gold medals, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press noted FIBA changed its rankings system in 2017 and only takes into account results from the last eight years.

If nothing else, this will add another layer to the rivalry between the U.S. and Spain and serve as a backdrop the next time they face each other.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is a wanted man leading up to the 2024 Olympics.

Per NBA insider Marc Stein in his Substack Newsletter, Embiid has "firm interest" from Team USA for the Paris Games.

Stein noted Embiid, who gained French citizenship in July, is also being pursued by the host country to play for the French national team.

Embiid told reporters on Sept. 29 he was also sworn in as a U.S. citizen earlier in the month.

"I've been here for a long time," the five-time All-Star said. "My son is American. I felt like, I'm living here and it's a blessing to be an American. So I said, why not?"

French national team coach Vincent Collet told reporters Thursday he's hopeful Embiid will play for him in two years.

"I know he met some of our players to discuss," Collet said. "I think he should play with us. But we will see. We will respect his decision whatever it is."

Even though the Olympic teams would probably like a swift decision, Embiid made it clear he's not focused on 2024 right now.

"I just want to be healthy and win a championship and go from there," he said last month.

Embiid, who was born in Cameroon, has yet to participate in the Olympics. He was mentored by fellow Cameroon basketball player Luc Mbah a Moute before heading to Kansas in 2013.

Steve Kerr will be the head coach for Team USA during this Olympic cycle. He will take over for Gregg Popovich, who led the squad to a gold medal at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

The U.S. team defeated France 87-82 in the men's final to win its fourth consecutive Olympic title. Despite the loss, the French squad tied its best finish at the Olympics and medaled for the first time since 2000.

Team USA is the top squad in the FIBA world rankings. Spain, Australia, Argentina and France round out the top five.

While Embiid decides about his Olympic future, he is also preparing for his ninth season with the Philadelphia 76ers. The 28-year-old is coming off the best season of his career. He averaged an NBA-best 30.6 points per game and finished second in MVP voting.

The Sixers will open the regular season on Oct. 18 against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

The 1992 Dream Team and 2008 Redeem Team typically dominate the conversation about the greatest Team USA men's basketball team.

Kevin Durant apparently has a difference of opinion—albeit one he was only willing to share for a short amount of time.

Durant seemed ready to crown the 2012 team as the best of all time in a now-deleted tweet:

In terms of pure domination, there's no question the Dream Team takes the cake. The United States obliterated the competition at the 1992 Olympics, winning every game by at least 32 points.

It's also worth noting that 11 of the 12 players on the Dream Team are currently in the Hall of Fame. Neither the 2008 roster nor the one four years later can say it boasts 11 future Hall of Famers.

That said, it's fair to wonder whether the 2008 or 2012 squads were actually better basketball teams than the 1992 counterpart. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were greatly diminished versions of themselves by the Dream Team era, and it's fair to point out the international competition was significantly easier in 1992 versus 16 or 20 years later.

As far as the debate between 2008 and 2012 goes, it'll likely depend on how you want to build a team. The 2008 squad was a Kobe Bryant outfit with versions of LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard that were great but still yet to reach their apex form. The team four years later featured arguably the best ever-version of James, along with Paul and Carmelo Anthony at the peak of their powers. Bryant took more of an elder statesman's role, while Durant blossomed as the team's leading scorer at age 23.

Given his 30-point masterpiece in the United States' gold medal win over Spain, it's easy to see why Durant might have a special place in his heart for the 2012 squad.

Mike Krzyzewski and LeBron James had to work on their relationship ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Ian O'Connor provided a breakdown of the Duke coach's transition to international basketball in a Sports Illustrated excerpt for his book Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski.

Krzyzewski was brought to Team USA to turn things around after a disappointing bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics, but he didn't do any better in his first opportunity as the Americans lost to Greece in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. LeBron was on both teams and was seemingly unsure of the team's direction.

Former Duke player Shane Battier said he was "absolutely sure NBA players were skeptical of Coach K, especially the guys who didn't play in college."

James skipped college and was five years into his professional career in the summer of 2008, coming off his second first-team All-NBA selection. He led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals one year earlier.

Krzyzewski clearly needed buy-in from LeBron going into the Olympics, but there was a particularly uneasy moment leading up to the first practice. The coach asked the superstar to speak to the team about expectations, and he thought he was going to be left hanging.

"We were close to ending the meeting, and this motherf--ker didn't speak up," Krzyzewski reportedly told a confidant about James. "I needed him to talk."

The person called it a "great power struggle" happening in the room as LeBron waited to speak.

James finally spoke up, saying Team USA needed to be a "no-excuse team" based on the world-class talent on the roster.

"Coach K just wore him down and established a trust," a coach said afterward.

There were other tense moments in the relationship—including LeBron calling on Coach K to keep Kobe Bryant in check when he was forcing shots—but the coach was able to prove his worth. By the end of the summer, the team brought home a gold medal.

With James, Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, Carmelo Anthony and more on the roster, the team swept through the tournament in Beijing, China, winning all eight games by double digits.

Krzyzewski returned in 2012 to join forces with James and won another gold in London, England. 

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant was named the 2021 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year on Friday after leading Team USA to a gold medal in this summer's Tokyo Olympics.

Durant led the United States in scoring (20.7 points per game) as the Americans overcame an early loss to France in the group stage to take the top spot on the podium. KD scored 29 points as the U.S. avenged its prior loss to the French in the Olympic final.

"It's amazing to be honored in this way," Durant said. "First off to represent your country and do it amongst the best athletes in the world, it's an honor. So many great athletes come through USA Basketball and the national teams in general in all sports, and so to be chosen as one of the top athletes is an honor. I'm very grateful for the opportunity and thankful that I received this award."

The 33-year-old Washington, D.C. native earned the award for the third time. He was previously honored after guiding the U.S. to gold in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and shared the award with Carmelo Anthony after the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

Durant's presence on this year's roster was particularly important because several of the NBA's biggest stars, including the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James and Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, opted against making the trip to Japan for the Games.

"Kevin was an incredible leader for USA Basketball this past summer," USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said. "With this being his third Olympics, he had the respect of his teammates, and he clearly is one of the best basketball players in the world. USA Basketball is grateful to Kevin for his time and ongoing commitment to our organization, and we are proud to celebrate him as the 2021 Male Athlete of the Year."

Along with his team-high scoring, the 11-time NBA All-Star also averaged 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 52.9 percent from the field, 37.5 percent on threes and 90.5 percent on free throws.

In addition, Durant delivered the final dagger to France in the championship game, making two free throws with eight seconds remaining to put the rematch out of reach after Rudy Gobert and Co. fought back within three in the final minute.

"As he has done before, Kevin Durant performed brilliantly on the international stage and led the way to another gold medal," U.S. head coach Gregg Popovich said. "I remain awed by his work ethic, leadership and desire to excel."

The extra workload over the summer certainly hasn't slowed down the 2013-14 NBA Most Valuable Player as he's been outstanding for the Nets to put himself in the MVP conversation alongside Curry, the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo and Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic.

Durant is averaging an NBA-leading 29.7 points along with 7.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists across 27 appearances for the 21-8 Nets, who lead the Eastern Conference despite the continued absence of Kyrie Irving.

Brooklyn returns to action Saturday night when it hosts the Orlando Magic at the Barclays Center.

USA Basketball has named Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr its new head coach of the men's national team.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the decision on December 10. USA Basketball also named Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and Gonzaga University head coach Mark Few as Kerr's assistants.

Kerr replaces San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who was Team USA's head coach since 2016 and led the Americans to a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Kerr was an obvious choice for Team USA, as he is a future Hall of Fame coach with five NBA Finals appearances, three NBA championships and one NBA Coach of the Year award to his credit.

Aside from his excellence in the NBA, Kerr has a long history with USA basketball as a player and coach.

He was part of the team that won a gold medal at the FIBA World Championship in 1986, and decades later became a coach for Team USA and was part of Popovich's staff at the 2021 Summer Games.

Kerr has huge shoes to fill, as the United States has now won gold at four consecutive Olympics since taking a disappointing bronze in Athens in 2004.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski led Team USA to gold at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics before handing the team over to Popovich, who continued the streak this year.

One intriguing storyline to follow leading up to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will be whether Kerr has an impact on top stars he has coached opting to be part of the team.

It remains to be seen what level they will be performing at in three years, but Warriors stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green could all be strong candidates for the team, as could former Warriors and current Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant.

Regardless of what happens, it is difficult to argue with Team USA's choice, as Kerr has won nearly 70 percent of the games he has coached in the NBA and has Golden State off to a 24-6 start this season.

Team USA men's basketball is reportedly looking at two of the NBA's best head coaches to replace Gregg Popovich for the next Olympic cycle. 

Per NBA reporter Marc Stein, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr "has emerged as the favorite" to take over for Popovich. 

Stein also noted that Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat is also in the mix, but his lack of experience in international basketball makes him more of a long shot. 

Former NBA All-Star Grant Hill, who took over the position of managing director of USA men's basketball after the Tokyo Olympics, told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated he hopes to have a new coach hired before the start of the 2021-22 NBA season on Oct. 19. 

Spears cited a source as saying that the next head coach would likely be a "current NBA coach with previous USA Basketball experience."

That would certainly seem to favor Kerr, who was an assistant on Popovich's staff for the Tokyo Games. Lloyd Pierce, who is currently an assistant with the Indiana Pacers, and Villanova's Jay Wright were the other assistants. 

Spoelstra did serve as head coach for the Team USA men's select team this summer. The select team trains with the main club to prepare them for the Olympics, but he didn't travel with the top squad to Tokyo. 

There are several other coaches who meet the criteria Spears' cited to replace Popovich. Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillan was an assistant for the 2012 team. Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns and Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks were assistants for Mike Krzyzewski in 2016. 

Kerr is entering his ninth season as Warriors head coach. The 56-year-old has led the franchise to three championships in five trips to the NBA Finals. He owns a 376-171 record in 547 games.    

With the pressure of the Tokyo Olympics behind him, Draymond Green opened up about the mounting concern inside the Team USA locker room following the opening-round loss to France. 

Speaking to Carmelo Anthony on his YouTube show What’s In Your Glass?, Green shared notes from a players-only meeting Team USA held after the 83-76 defeat (comments begin at 5:45):

“We definitely felt it. After that first game game, we had a meeting. It was just players-only and talking about what we felt we needed to do. Like aside from what the coaches felt, aside from what anybody was saying, what did we feel like we needed to do? And then after that meeting, it was kind of like the OK for everybody to be themselves. Normally we have like 4-5 weeks to prepare. We had two weeks from the start of camp to the first game. There wasn’t much time to really figure it out. ... So when we lost that first game, it felt like the world was ending. Because France beat the world championship team in 2019, and although none of us played on that team, you still hear that and you still feel that when you’re apart of Team USA. So when they beat us the first game, you hear everybody talking about how much the world has caught up to the United States. ... But we knew we blew that f--king game. ... So we knew if we corrected some things and played our brand of basketball ... we were going to beat the hell out of everybody.”

The United States bounced back in pool play with a 120-66 victory over Iran and a 119-84 win over the Czech Republic before steamrolling its way through the knockout round. 

That led to a gold-medal rematch against France in which the Americans came out on top, 87-82. 

Whatever the players ultimately hashed out after the loss to France, the results are hard to argue with. Team USA won its fourth consecutive gold medal, and Green launched on an epic tweetstorm calling out commentators who doubted the Americans would win. 

As much as the talk at the time centered on how the rest of the world was catching up to the United States in basketball, it appears there's still a sizable gap. 

Considering the Americans only had their full team together for a handful of days before the Games opened—thanks to a later-than-usual NBA postseason—Green saw the gold medal more as a statement of how quickly everyone bought in. 

Now the United States has another three years to try to stay ahead of countries like France, Slovenia and Spain that have a legitimate chance to make a run at the 2024 Games in Paris.