Alright, listen up, y’all. We gonna talk about them basketball coaches, the fellas who whip them Olympic boys into shape. You know, the ones who make them jump and run and throw that ball. The US Olympic basketball team coaches, that’s who we talkin’ ‘bout.
Now, I ain’t no fancy sports expert, but I know a thing or two. Been watchin’ these games on that there TV box for years. Seen a whole bunch of coaches come and go. Some good, some not so good. Let me tell ya, it ain’t easy herdin’ them millionaire players.
Started way back when, they let them NBA fellas play. That was in, uh, let me think…1992, yeah, that’s it. Before that, it was just college kids, I reckon. But once them pros came in, well, it was a whole new ball game, as they say.
- 1992: Chuck Daly – This fella, he was the first one to lead the pros. They called ‘em the “Dream Team.” Man, they were somethin’ else. Magic, Bird, Jordan… all them big names. Daly, he knew how to get them to play together. Won the gold, easy peasy.
- 1996, 2000: Lenny Wilkens– Another good one. Kept the winning streak going. Got two golds under his belt. They say he was a real players’ coach. Kept things calm and cool.
- 2004: Larry Brown – Things got a little rocky here. Lost a few games, didn’t get the gold. Folks weren’t too happy ‘bout that. Guess even the best lose sometimes. He was a tough fella, that Brown.
- 2008-2016: Mike Krzyzewski – They call him “Coach K.” This guy, he won a bunch. Three golds in a row! He was from college, but he sure knew how to handle them pros. A real strict fella, I heard.
And now, we got Steve Kerr. He’s the coach for 2024, over there in Paris. Heard they had a bit of a stumble last year in some other competition, but Kerr, he’s a smart cookie. He coaches them Golden State Warriors, you know, the team with that Curry fella who shoots the lights out.
Kerr’s got some help too. Got Spoelstra from Miami, Tyronn Lue from the Clippers, and Mark Few from Gonzaga. Sounds like a good bunch. They got fellas like Durant, he’s the one scoring all them points, breaking records and whatnot. And that young fella Booker, he’s pretty good too. And Curry, can’t forget him. Oh, and Adebayo and Davis, they’re big fellas, good at rebounding and blocking shots.
Team USA wins the gold medal in men’s basketball most of the time. They beat that France team this year, 98 to 87. Folks were jumpin’ and hollerin’. It was a real barn burner, they say. That Durant fella, he scored a whole bunch of points. They say he’s the best scorer in Olympic history now. Imagine that!
Coaching them fellas ain’t easy, I tell ya. Gotta manage all them egos, all that talent. Gotta make sure they play as a team, not just for themselves. It’s like herding chickens, only these chickens are seven feet tall and worth millions of dollars.
So, that’s the story of them US Olympic basketball team coaches, as best as I can tell it. A whole bunch of fellas who took on the challenge of leading the best basketball players in the world. Some won, some lost, but they all gave it their best shot. And that’s all you can ask for, ain’t it?
Now, I gotta go make some supper. All this talk about basketball made me hungry.
Tags: [US Olympic Basketball, Team USA, Steve Kerr, Coaches History, NBA, Gold Medal, Paris Olympics, Kevin Durant, Basketball Coaches]
