Spurs coach Popovich to take over Team USA,
Five-time champion coach with Spurs to succeed Krzyzewski.
Gregg Popovich, who has led the San Antonio Spurs to five NBA titles, will replace Mike Krzyzewski as the U.S. basketball coach following the 2016 Olympics.
Popovich will take over starting with 2017 training camp and lead the Americans into the 2019 Basketball World Cup and 2020 Olympics if they qualify, USA Basketball said Friday.
Regarded as one of the best coaches in the game, Popovich was the choice when USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo decided to return to an NBA coach. Krzyzewski has led the Americans since 2005.
Krzyzewski has guided the Americans to consecutive Olympic gold medals, two world titles and a 75-1 record. The Duke coach will stay on as a special adviser to Colangelo.
“What the program has accomplished over the last decade under the leadership of Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski is truly impressive,” Popovich said in a statement. “I will do my utmost to maintain the high standards of success, class and character established by Jerry, Coach K and the many players who have sacrificed their time on behalf of USA Basketball.”
Records confirm Odom overdose suspicions: Lamar Odom is believed to have overdosed on cocaine and other drugs before he was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel, according to search warrant records.
The court document includes testimony to a Nevada state judge from Michael Eisenloffel, a Nye County sheriff ’s detective, on Oct. 13 after the former NBA star was found at the Love Ranch in Crystal.
“I believe that Mr. Odom may be — or may have been — under the influence of a controlled substance,” Eisenloffel told Fifth Judicial District Judge Robert Lane.
Odom was hospitalized in Las Vegas and transferred to Los Angeles, where his family said Thursday he was undergoing therapy and is showing improvement.
Silver offers bright outlook for league: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is optimistic about the league’s health and relationship with its players, offering hope that the league can avoid another lockout in 2017.
Silver also says he expects the league will reduce the number of preseason games, though doesn’t know how many would be played. The schedule currently allows for a maximum of eight per team.
Owners are expecting an enormous influx of revenues next year with the beginning of the new national TV deals, valued at about $2.6 billion.
Heat: Guard Gerald Green was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making menacing gestures in an exhibition game.