NBA
2024 Paris Olympics are the “Last Dance” for Head Coach Steve Kerr
Mat Issa is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Yes, he spells his name with one "t." He's obsessed with NBA history, so much so that he's dedicated nearly two years of research to his two mini-series', "Blazing the Trail" and "The Quest for the Best." Right now, Mat goes to law school and writes about the NBA for The Analyst, Forbes, and of course, Basketball Insiders. His work has also been featured in ESPN, SB Nation, FanSided, Basketball News, ONE37pm, and Raptors Republic. Also, he's a lifelong Spartans fan. Go Green!
All posts by Mat IssaUpdated06 Nov 2023
The 2024 Paris Olympics isn’t just the last dance for the Team USA players. This could be the last go around for their leading man.
Much has been made about the 2024 Paris Olympics. After Team USA failed to meet expectations in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup (they couldn’t even finish in the top-3), many have viewed the Paris games as a chance for redemption.
As a result, many aging stars (like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant) are ready to commit to representing Team USA in the summer of 2024. However, given their advanced age (at least as it pertains to basketball), Paris has been seen as a swan song for this generation of superstars. And based on recent reporting, it appears that the players aren’t the only ones who will be participating in their last Olympic dance.
Kerr: Team USA Head Coaching Job Should Be A ‘Two-Year’ Gig
According to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, the 2024 Paris Olympics will be the last time that Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr leads Team USA into battle. Here is what he told them:
“No,” Kerr said bluntly when asked if he would coach Team USA after the Paris Games. “To me, it’s a two-year; it’s a cycle. Pop 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. 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 believes that Mike Krzyzewski created such a solid foundation for USA basketball that all the coaches who come after him should do two-year stints, and after that, it’s their duty to “pass the baton.” This is akin to way back in the days when George Washington refused to do a third four-year tenure as the President of the USA due to a similar line of thinking.
2024 Paris Olympics Won’t Be Kerr’s First ‘Last Dance’
Along with James, Curry, and Durant, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, and Joel Embiid have all also made their intent to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics known to the general public.
The irony in all this is that this isn’t the first “last dance” extravaganza that Kerr has participated in. As many of you are well aware from the hit docuseries, “The Last Dance,” Kerr was a member of the final great Chicago Bulls team in 1998. Hopefully, his last dance with Team USA ends the same way his 1998 run with the Bulls did.
