During his second summer at the helm of Team USA (and his first Olympics), Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had an embattled while run guiding the Americans to their fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in Paris.
On Saturday, the U.S. survived a valiant push from Team France — in the nations’ second straight gold medal game pairing at the Olympics — to win by double digits late, 98-87. Kerr’s All-NBA Warriors point guard, Stephen Curry, led the way for the USA, with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field (8-of-13 from long range), five assists, two steals, and one rebound.
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Curry, 36, was appearing in his first Olympic games.
All-NBA Phoenix Suns combo forward Kevin Durant made Olympic history by claiming his fourth men’s basketball gold medal. He scored 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor (3-of-9 from beyond the 3-point arc) and 2-of-2 foul shooting, while also grabbing four rebounds, passing for four assists, nabbing a steal, and blocking one shot.
Read More: Kevin Durant Creates Insane Team USA History With Win Over France
Kerr was never going to be particularly popular navigating one of the most loaded Olympic rosters since at least the 2008 “Redeem Team” squad, and perhaps even since the 1996 or ’92 gold medal-winning clubs.
But in perhaps his most questionable decision, Kerr sat Boston Celtics All-NBA combo forward Jayson Tatum for two full games, both against Team Serbia (the eventual bronze medalists).
“I went with the combinations that made sense,” Kerr said after the first incident. “I felt like an idiot not playing him… [In] a 40-minute game, you can’t play more than 10 [players].”
Read More: Will Jayson Tatum Get Playing Time For Team USA in Gold Medal Game Against France?
Tatum did play after all for the U.S. today, but finished with just two points on 1-of-3 shooting from the floor, three rebounds, and a steal in 11 minutes.
The two players to receive Kerr’s ire against a jumbo-sized Team France (its best players are a pair of All-Defensive First Team centers, San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama and Minnesota Timberwolves Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert) in the gold medal game were Indiana Pacers All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton and Boston Celtics All-Defensive Second Team guard Derrick White.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Kerr coached Team USA to a fourth-place finish at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. That year’s club was far less star-studded than this season’s iteration.
It’s unclear how long Kerr, 58, will want to stay on as Team USA’s head coach. But his replacement may already be on the bench.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who has guided a variety of very different Heat clubs to five NBA Finals and won two, possesses the kind of in-game creativity and positional flexibility needed on the international stage. Like Kerr, he’ll make difficult rotation choices.
But unlike Kerr, there’s a good chance Spoelstra doesn’t necessarily kowtow to ceremonial starts for veterans. It was pretty clear that Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was a poor fit as Team USA’s starting five, yet Kerr started him for most of the club’s games.
Outside of one terrific 19-point outburst against Team Serbia in the semifinals, Embiid was roundly outplayed by Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA center Anthony Davis and Miami Heat All-Star five Bam Adebayo.
