Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown is set to coach Australia in the 2020 Olympics, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Brown will be coaching Australia again, having served in that role in the 2012 Olympic games.
Australia is finalizing an agreement with Sixers coach Brett Brown to become its national team coach again, sources tell ESPN. Brown would coach Aussies in 2020 Olympics. Brown coached Australia in 2012 London Games.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 19, 2019
Australia finished in fourth place at the 2019 FIBA World Cup after it fell to France in the bronze-medal game. He served as an assistant coach for the Australian team in Atlanta (1996) and in Sydney (2000). Twelve years later, he got the coaching gig.
Brown’s star point guard, Ben Simmons, was born in Australia, but opted not to play in the FIBA World Cup. He said playing in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 remains on his schedule.
“I will still be heading back home to Australia to host my camps as well as train and play with the Boomers in the upcoming exhibition games,” Simmons said in July. “I’m really excited about the talent we have on the Boomers squad, especially moving closer to 2020 where I will be honored and humbled to represent my country on the world’s biggest sporting stage at the Olympics in Tokyo.”
Simmons was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016 and won Rookie of the Year for the 2017-18 season. He has averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists in his two seasons.
Australia’s World Cup lineup featured San Antonio’s Patty Mills, Joe Ingles of Utah Jazz, Phoenix center Aron Baynes, Cleveland’s Matthew Dellavedova, former No. 1 draft pick Andrew Bogut, Detroit center-forward Thon Maker and Simmons’ 76ers teammate Jonah Bolden.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
