Steve Kerr has experienced plenty of NBA success over the years, and next summer, he'll look to bring home the gold as Team USA's coach in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
But Kerr's journey with the American basketball team will end there no matter the outcome, as the Warriors coach told The Athletic's Joe Vardon he will no longer lead the group after the upcoming Olympics.
“No,” Kerr told Vardon when asked if he would coach Team USA after the Paris Games. “To me, it’s a two-year; it’s a cycle. [Gregg Popovich] 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.
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"I guess I think it was different the last go-around with Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski] and Jerry [Colangelo], when they were really establishing this culture and this system where guys had to commit for a couple years. Made sense for Coach K to stay on. But I think where we are now, one cycle and you move on.”
Kerr and Team USA qualified for the Paris games after placing fourth at the FIBA World Cup in the Philippines.
After winning gold as an assistant coach under Popovich at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Kerr will lead a Team USA squad in 2024 that could feature a "Last Dance" for NBA superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and even Steph Curry after all expressed intent to play.
"I talked to some people about the opportunity, and definitely, if all things stay the same, I want to be playing," Curry said at Warriors Media Day last month. "It's the one thing I haven't done, and I also understand the opportunity for Team USA to kind of reassert themselves as dominant in the world and all that type of stuff.
Golden State Warriors
"Definitely want to be there. Definitely want to be on the team. Hopefully, things line up that way where we're all there."
Kerr has joked in the past that a gold medal is the only award Curry is missing in his illustrious trophy case. As the duo looks to put Golden State back in the NBA championship conversation this season, perhaps their next feat together can be Olympic dominance.