Warriors' Steve Kerr named USA coach until 2024

By Sports Desk December 20, 2021

Steve Kerr has been confirmed as the new coach of the United States men's basketball team for 2022-24.

USA Basketball announced the appointment on Monday, with Kerr replacing San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich at the helm. Kerr had been Popovich's assistant on the national team since 2017.

Popovich – a five-time NBA champion with the Spurs – led the US to glory at this year's Tokyo Games, their fourth consecutive Olympic gold.

The team will have a similarly impressive staff moving forward, with Kerr in charge having won the NBA title five times as a player and on three occasions as coach of the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors stood 24-6 for this year ahead of a Monday night game with the Sacramento Kings, as they make another run at the championship. They have improved Kerr's career win percentage to 69.3 – the third-best mark in NBA history. Among coaches with three wins or more, Popovich (66.3 per cent) ranks eighth.

Kerr will be supported by Gonzaga coach Mark Few, the Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra and the Phoenix Suns' Monty Williams.

"I'm incredibly honoured and humbled to represent our country as the head coach for the USA Basketball men's national team," Kerr said in a statement. "It's a thrilling opportunity and I'm excited for the challenge."

Assuming the US qualify, Kerr will be in charge for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Related items

  • Curators and grounds staff workshop reap benefits ahead of T20 World Cup Curators and grounds staff workshop reap benefits ahead of T20 World Cup

    The men and women who will be responsible for the preparations of the pitches and fields for the upcoming ICC Men’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup, are now well equipped with the tool of the trade. Following a two-week series of workshops, the ground staff across the region went through theory and practical sessions geared towards education and re-education on the rudiment of their crucial roles.

    Over 100 participants completed the workshop series, which included both indoor educational sessions and outdoor practical events. The events were led by senior officials of Cricket West Indies (CWI).

    Winston Reid, the Lead Curator for the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), lauded the initiative, which he hopes will continue beyond the World Cup.

    Reid, who is based at Kensington Oval in Barbados, the venue that will host the June 29 World Cup final, had a hugely successful cricket career when he played over 100 matches at the regional level for Barbados. He joined the staff at the historic venue in 2005, ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2007.

    “This was a very good initiative by the ICC [International Cricket Council], CWI [Cricket West Indies] and the BCA [Barbados Cricket Association]. This is something that should be encouraged, and I know the staff here benefited tremendously. It was a wonderful eye-opener, an education in many ways it was enlightening and interactive and the responses I got from the others who participated, said to me it was clear they too benefitted in a meaningful way,” Reid said.

    “The reason behind the workshop was to improve in every way we can and to do better at our jobs. We are gearing up towards the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be the biggest event we have ever hosted. We will be staging the final here, at this magnificent venue, so we want to make sure everyone is fully equipped.

    “Not only for Kensington, but for curatorship at all the other venues around the island and the region. We want to see better pitches and fields and playing conditions for our players to show their skills and also to entertain the fans in the stands. So, this was a very timely workshop series which augurs well for the game in the West Indies going forward," he added.

    Roland Holder, CWI Manager of Cricket Operations and Head of Cricket for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, outlined the reasons behind the series of workshops. He said the series was crafted by CWI and designed to upskill existing curators across the region by exposing them to international best practices for pitch preparation and applicable maintenance, while simultaneously expanding the cadre of curators by identifying new talent with the appropriate combination of theoretical knowledge and practical exposure, to lend further expertise to match venues to deliver a world-class event in June.

    A CWI Curators Manual was also produced in the lead up to the workshop and will be disseminated to the curators.

    Six countries in the West Indies will host matches in the ninth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which will be played from June 1-29. West Indies, which hosted the event in 2010, will hold matches at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua; Kensington Oval, Barbados; Guyana National Stadium, Guyana; Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Saint Lucia; Arnos Vale, St Vincent and Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago.

    The event will be the largest in the tournament’s history with 20 international teams playing 55 matches across nine locations. It is the first time USA will host matches at a T20 World Cup, with 16 first-round matches split between Nassau County International Cricket Stadium (New York), Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium (Dallas), and Broward County Stadium (Lauderhill).

  • James aiming to be 'smart' with workload management James aiming to be 'smart' with workload management

    LeBron James knows he is no good to the Los Angeles Lakers if he is not healthy, as the 39-year-old said he will prioritise his well-being over a playoff push.

    The 39-year-old has been nursing an ankle issue for much of this season, though he returned from a one-game absence in emphatic fashion on Wednesday.

    James finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists – his fourth triple-double of the season – to help the Lakers to a 136-124 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

    "I got to be smart with it," said James, who has missed 10 games this season. 

    "If I'm not healthy, or [anywhere] close to being healthy, then it's not good for our ballclub anyway. It's not good for me."

    James said he would have played in the Lakers' win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, had he been willing to take any risks.

    "I mean, I would've probably tried to play yesterday [in Milwaukee] if that was the case," he added.

    Explaining his thought process behind his load management for the rest of the season, James said: "Just be very strategic.

    "Obviously, understanding and seeing how my ankle and my foot are feeling. But just being very smart about it, obviously.

    "We are where we are, but our health has always been the most important for our ballclub. Not just one individual.

    "But for me looking out for myself when it comes to injury and knowing my foot and knowing my ankle and how it reacts, and how it's been over the last couple of years, it's just always keeping a hefty eye on it."

    The Lakers are on a five-game winning streak and occupy ninth in the Western Conference with nine regular-season games remaining.

    Anthony Davis sat out of Wednesday's win with a knee issue, with coach Darvin Ham saying the Lakers would assess the situation further on Thursday.

  • NBA: Rockets beat Thunder in OT for 10th straight victory NBA: Rockets beat Thunder in OT for 10th straight victory

    Jalen Green scored 37 points and Dillon Brooks hit a pair of 3-pointers in overtime to lift the Houston Rockets to their 10th consecutive victory, 132-126 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

    Amen Thompson had 25 points and 15 rebounds and Brooks finished with 20 points for the Rockets, who remained one game behind Golden State in the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

    Houston’s winning streak is its longest since an 11-game run late in the 2017-18 season.

    Josh Giddey tied a career high with 31 points and Jalen Williams added 23 and 10 assists for the Thunder, who remained tied with Minnesota and one-half game behind Northwest Division-leading Denver.

    Oklahoma City played without All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat out with a bruised right thigh.

    Brooks got Houston going in overtime with consecutive 3-pointers and Green’s 3 with 64 seconds left extended the Rockets’ lead to 126-120. Isaiah Joe nailed a 3 for the Thunder five seconds later, but Green made a layup and Thompson dunked with 26 seconds to go.

    Streaking Lakers ride LeBron’s triple-double

    LeBron James had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists and Rui Hachimura scored 32 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to their fifth straight win, 136-124 over the Memphis Grizzlies.

    D’Angelo Russell had 23 points and Taurean Prince added 15 for the Lakers, who stayed hot without Anthony Davis (knee) and pulled within 2 ½ games of idle Dallas for sixth in the Western Conference.

    James returned after sitting out Tuesday’s double-overtime win over Milwaukee with a troublesome ankle and notched his fourth triple-double this season and 111th of his career.

    Clippers get disputed win over 76ers

    Kawhi Leonard completed two 3-point plays late in the fourth quarter and made a block at the rim on the final possession to give the Los Angeles Clippers a controversial 108-107 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

    Leonard stuffed Kelly Oubre at the rim with five seconds left and the Clippers holding a one-point lead.

    The officiating crew after the game said a foul should have been called on the play that would have sent Oubre to the line with a chance for the winning points.

    Leonard bounced back from a 1-for-8 shooting first half to finish with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Paul George scored 22 points. James Harden had 16 points and 14 assists in his return to Philadelphia.

    Tyrese Maxey scored 26 points for the 76ers, who dropped their fourth in five games.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.