The three-man coaching staff for the 2021 USA Basketball Select Team, assembled to help train against the USA Basketball Men’s National Team ‘s Las Vegas training camp is set.
Erik Spoelstra will serve as head coach of the 2021 USA Select Team. Gonzaga University head coach Mark Few, who served as an assistant coach with the 2019 Select Team and head coach of the 2015 USA Pan American Games Team, as well as Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Jamahl Mosley, who served as an assistant coach at the 2018 USA National Team minicamp will serve as assistant coaches.
“We’re very fortunate to have highly regarded coaches like Erik, Mark and Jamahl accept the responsibility of coaching the 2021 USA Select Team and helping prepare our national team for the Tokyo Olympics,” said Jerry Colangelo, USA National Team managing director since 2005. “Erik has been extremely successful in Miami and won back-to-back NBA championships, and we’re excited to have him involved and become part of USA Basketball’s remarkable coaching legacy. It’s going to be really helpful to have all three coaches involved in this year’s Las Vegas training camp.”
For Spoelstra, this opportunity will be his first time serving as a coach in any capacity with a USA Basketball team. The USA Select Team athletes will be announced at a later date.
Erik Spoelstra
“I’m honored to serve and assist with the USA Select Team to help prepare the National Team for the Olympic Games in Tokyo,” said Spoelstra.“I want to thank Pop, Jerry and Sean (Ford) for the opportunity to serve our country and work with a great group of coaches and players.”
Spoelstra recently completed his 13th season as head coach of the Miami HEAT and is the second-longest tenured head coach in the NBA, behind current men’s Olympic head coach Gregg Popovich (25 seasons with Spurs). Spoelstra is the winningest coach in HEAT franchise history. He holds the franchise record for playoff wins (85), series wins (18) and playoff winning percentage (.594). He also holds records for regular season victories (607), games coached (1,031), and winning percentage (.589). He helped the HEAT win NBA Championships in 2012 and 2013, becoming just the eighth coach in NBA history to win back-to-back championships. Since starting as head coach on April 28, 2008, Spoelstra has led his team to the playoffs 10 times, making it to the NBA Finals in five of those seasons, including four straight from 2010-11 to 2013-14. He has led the HEAT to three 50+ win seasons, including a franchise best 66 wins during the 2012-13 season. Spoelstra has won Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors a franchise-record eight times, with his best month coming in March of 2013 going 17-1 (.944).
Before taking over as the sixth head coach in HEAT history, Spoelstra had served Miami in a number of roles in his first 13 years, starting with the organization during the 1997-98 season. He originally was hired as video coordinator and over the years was promoted to assistant coach/video coordinator, assistant coach/advance scout and assistant coach/director of scouting before ascending to head coach. In his seven seasons as the HEAT’s assistant coach/director of scouting, he helped the HEAT win an NBA championship during the 2005-06 season, with a team led by former USA Olympic gold medalists Shaquille O’Neal (1996) and Dwyane Wade (2008). In 1992, Spoelstra graduated from the University of Portland, where he was a starting point guard for four years. After graduation, he spent two years as a player/coach for Tus Herten, a professional German team.