Image Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Erik Spoelstra Likely to Succeed Steve Kerr as Next Team USA Head Coach for 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is set to take over Steve Kerr.

Image Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Erik Spoelstra, the celebrated head coach of the Miami Heat, is likely to succeed Steve Kerr as the next coach of USA Basketball Men’s National Team. The two-time NBA Championship winning head coach served as a lead assistant to Kerr on Team USA that won the 2024 gold medal in Paris.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Spoelstra will coach the team for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Reports add that an official agreement has not been signed between Spoelstra and USA Basketball yet. The development comes not long after USA Basketball appointed Duke’s Kara Lawson as the coach of the women’s national team for the Olympic cycle through the Los Angeles edition.

Just in: USA Basketball is expected to name Erik Spoelstra as the new head coach of the men's national team, sources tell ESPN. Spoelstra succeeds Steve Kerr for the next World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics after serving as a lead assistant on Team USA's 2024 gold medal squad. pic.twitter.com/eApR2LsXeB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 9, 2025

Team USA has focused on continuity ever since the team faced a defeat in the 2004 Olympics. Mike Krzyzewski was handed the task to build the foundation, later built upon by Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr. They guided the team to win five consecutive Olympic gold medals.

It goes without saying that Spoelstra has big shoes to fill and all eyes are set on him. This would be the fourth season where Team USA will have a different coach, with 2016 being coached by Krzyzewski, 2020 by Popovich, and Kerr in 2024.

Erik Spoelstra’s Journey From Miami Heat’s Video Room to Leading Coaching Staff

Erik Spoelstra started as a video coordinator for the Miami Heat and is now headed to his 5th Finals as the team's head coach.

Hard work pays off 👏 (via @MiamiHEAT) pic.twitter.com/lKZQONr6Kt
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 28, 2020

Erik Spoelstra, the best coach in the NBA according to NBA GMs, was a standout guard in Oregon. He attended University of Portland, where he earned West Coast Conference’s Freshman of the Year honors. Following college, Spoelstra joined the Miami Heat as a coordinator in their video room. After serving the role for two years, he was promoted to assistant coach/advance scout in 1999. In 2021, he became the Heat’s assistant coach/director of scouting in 2001.

It was in 2005 when the Miami Heat named him their head coach, and 19 years later, Spoelstra signed an 8-year, $120M deal with the Heat, which was the most committed coaching money in NBA history.

In the upcoming season, he will enter his 18th season as Heat’s coach. Spoelstra has the longest current tenure in the league following Gregg Popovich’s retirement. As a head coach, his stint has been memorable. He won two NBA titles while being at the helm of coaching staff, while one as an assistant under Pat Riley in 2006. Under his coaching, Miami Heat is 787-572 throughout 17 seasons.

Erik Spoelstra

Steve Kerr

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.