Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown targets Olympic gold with Australia
Returning Boomers coach Brett Brown says Ben Simmons is the insulation the side needs to finally conquer their “fragile moments” and win Olympic gold. The Philadelphia 76ers coach was officially handed the keys from Andrej Lemanis on Wednesday, who took over the job from Brown in 2013 after the London Games.
The Boomers have twice been cruelly denied an international medal under Lemanis, finishing fourth at Rio’s Games and China’s World Cup. A tough foul call in Rio was the difference between fourth and bronze in 2016, while the Boomers let big leads slip in the semi-final and bronze-medal game in China this year to ensure their wait for international silverware continued.
Both campaigns were played without NBA All-Star Simmons, who plays under Brown at the 76ers and hasn’t featured for the Boomers since 2013. Crestfallen after their failed bid in China earlier this year, Lemanis reached out to Brown to replace him and said on Wednesday he was the best man for the job.
Citing time constraints, Brown was previously reluctant to return to the post, but admitted he felt a “duty” to take up the offer and that he was confident the Boomers will arrive in Japan next July at full strength. “In the event that it all plays out like we hope it will, I think it’s a natural pairing,” he said of Simmons’s expected Games commitment. “I will give him the ball again [if he plays].
“They were a basket here, few seconds there to tipping this thing and bringing Australia its first medal [in Rio and Beijing], that’s how fragile the whole thing is. I’m hoping that the inclusion of Ben and the surrounding cast can provide insulation for some of those fragile moments, and enable us to get over the top. I’m not taking this job for any other reason than to win a gold medal.”
Brown is not committing to the job beyond Tokyo and indicated he would bring with him a new batch of assistants he was familiar with, while he has spoken with the playing group to outline his intentions. But he said that would not negate the tremendous sense of unity that has been built since he and Lemanis, as his assistant, began building the side ahead of London’s Games, where they were eliminated by eventual champions United States in the quarter-finals.
“I feel very much connected to those young guys that came in, from Patty [Mills], to Joe [Ingles], to Delly [Matthew Dellavedova], to Aron Baynes,” he said. “To look in my rear view mirror and remember those early days with those young men and now to reconnect with them is completely an attraction for me.
“The Australian Boomers mean something and the chemistry, the spirit, the competitiveness, the mateship ... all the stuff is a driving force for me, what all coaches aspire to bring in. For me it’s a collision of a few good things that equal just a genuine excitement to accept this position.”