Team USA has starred on the global stage in modern history, winning the last five Olympic Gold medals. While it is, of course, down to the elite talent they bring on their roster, an underrated aspect of their success is the Hall of Fame coaches they consistently have at the helm.
The greatest in international history for the United States was Duke icon Mike Krzyzewski , who, although never coached at the NBA level, gave guidelines to seasoned veterans like Gregg Popovich when they were in the hot seat.
Pop recalled learning the nuances of the "next play mentality" from Coach K, which he subsequently brought to his Team USA rosters and back to the San Antonio Spurs when he returned from international duty.
"I copied that from Coach K. That's something he's been telling the Olympians for all the Olympic Games that he participated in as coach. And it's basically a play on the next play, that you don't react to a teammate's turnover or referee's call or the fact that you missed a shot. Nobody cares. You don't have that right. You owe your team, and you're responsible to your team to move on to the next play. And he called it strong faces. As simplistic as that sounds, it's really true. So, we've tried to adopt that," he said .
Pops' record with Team USA
Popovich is a storied coach and arguably the greatest bench tactician the NBA has ever seen. However, his tenure with USA Basketball isn't as impressive.
On paper, Popovich's resume with the program is elite, with a 45-13 overall record as an assistant or main man over six national teams to go along with four gold medals. However, with expectations so high, compared to other names, his 13 losses and an embarrassing seventh finish at the 2019 World Championships were deemed unacceptable when coaching the best talent in the world.
Still, Gregg's tenure is looked on with fond memories for him personally, describing it as the most important responsibility he's ever felt as a coach.
The future of the U.S. Basketball
In reality, the program has come under scrutiny following Coach K's impeccable tenure despite the continued Olympic Gold success. After capturing Gold at the Paris Olympics with the latest iteration of the roster dubbed "The Avengers," Team USA will have a new voice yet again as decorated winner Steve Kerr steps down as their lead man.
At this stage, it seems to be a two-horse race between current assistants Tyronn Lue and Erik Spoelstra, and there's no doubt Krzyzewski will be right there again, offering his words of wisdom much like he did for Pop to continue to hold off the ever-improving global competition.
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