Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault's only previous experience with USA Basketball was a couple of stints as a video coordinator for younger-division teams more than a decade ago. And Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff has never been part of the national program.
That's all about to change. They're in line for trips to the Olympics.
Daigneault, Bickerstaff and Mark Few were formally named assistant coaches to serve on Miami coach Erik Spoelstra's staff for the 2027 Basketball World Cup in Qatar and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, those nominations getting approved by USA Basketball's Board of Directors on Thursday.
“We’re really excited about it," said Spoelstra, who'll serve as the U.S. head coach for the first time. "We wanted to try to zero in on this a little bit earlier in the process so we can start to get more organized and start to have some level of communication and continuity. The earlier the better, so I'm really excited about that.”
Few, the Gonzaga coach and soon-to-be-enshrined Basketball Hall of Famer, also was an assistant alongside Spoelstra in the previous Olympic cycle under now-former U.S. coach Steve Kerr. Daigneault worked with the U.S. teams that won the U19 World Cup in 2013 and the U18 FIBA Americas crown in 2014. Bickerstaff is about to make his USA Basketball debut.
“I'm grateful," Daigneault said. "Even after being offered the position and accepting it, I can’t even conceptualize what it'll feel like because I’ve never been to an Olympics. For everybody involved, I think it’s a very humbling and overwhelming experience. I’m sure it’s going to be the same for me.”
Bickerstaff — a soccer dad — took note this summer of how the nation came together in support of the U.S. national team during the World Cup. And he can't wait to see what that feels like over the next couple of years.
“It just means the world to me," Bickerstaff said of the appointment. “Growing up, you knew you always wanted to be a part of it in some way or form — to be able to say that you got to fight for a gold medal.”
The picks were announced by USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director Grant Hill, who is going through his second Olympic cycle in that role. Hiring Spoelstra was the first step, hiring the staff was the second step, and now Hill will continue moving toward assembling a roster for next year's World Cup.
“This is a huge step in terms of putting together the leadership team," Hill said. "One of the really neat parts is watching these great minds work together, collaborate, problem solve and figure out this journey, which is not as easy as everyone might think. With Mark, with J.B. and with Mark Few, we've got talented people who happen to be good people as well. And so, I’m beyond thrilled.”
Few has a longstanding relationship with Spoelstra, and Hill felt having some continuity between the staff from the 2024 Olympics — where the U.S. men won their fifth consecutive gold — and these 2027 and 2028 events was important.
“It’s the highest calling you can have as a basketball coach and it was such an honor to serve with USA Basketball during the last cycle," said Few, who will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame next month. “To be asked to return is another tremendous honor. I’m humbled, I’m honored and I’m excited to get back to work alongside Coach Spoelstra and an outstanding staff.”
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FILE - Gonzaga head coach Mark Few reacts during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Kennesaw State, March 19, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman, File)
FILE - Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) talks with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff during the first half in Game 7 of a second-round NBA playoffs basketball series May 17, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson, File)
FILE - Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault watches play against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half of Game 6 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, May 28, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — If LeBron James knows where he will play this coming season, he's still not saying.
The NBA's career scoring king and current free agent spoke publicly for the first time in weeks Thursday afternoon, indicating that a decision is close — though stopping short of revealing which team he'll choose to play for this fall, despite at least one cry from someone in a jampacked room shouting for him to “pick a team.”
“I won’t hold you guys up too much longer," James said.
The four-time NBA champion had a pair of appearances Thursday: He recorded an episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast alongside guest co-host Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers in New York on the opening day of Fanatics Fest, then spoke at the Game Plan Summit presented by CNBC and Boardroom later in the afternoon.
At the summit, he told Boardroom co-founder Rich Kleiman in an on-stage conversation that making this decision has a slew of layers — many of which, it seems, are off the court.
“It’s not just about the team,” James said. “There’s so many other factors that I’m factoring in right now on what best fits me as a player, what best fits me as a person and what best fits my happiness, and also my family as well.”
At Fanatics Fest, an 11-year-old in the crowd asked James about free agency and his next team — “first of all, that was a hell of a question and some of the media people here probably should learn from the young fella," James said — and the youngster got perhaps the best answer of the session, with James indicating that the 2026-27 season may not necessarily be his last as a player.
“It's a big decision for not only myself, but for my family as well,” James said. “Just for the last part of my career and where I want to spend the last few years or the last year or the last two years of my NBA career ... I'm going to try to fit into whatever team I'm going into — but also give them all the tools and give them all the knowledge that I've been able to grasp over the last 23 years. I know the game. I know the ins and outs of the game of basketball.”
James playfully chided Haliburton for asking him about his future — “didn’t we talk about this in the back?” James asked, and Haliburton said he would ”leave it alone.”
Of course, they didn't leave it alone. James made reference to a slew of teams such as Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia and Golden State, though didn't appear to give much in the way of hints. He did sip from a bottle of red wine that he opened and shared with Haliburton, calling it one of his podcast traditions.
And when fans shouted out suggestions for James' next team — one even asked him to play for the New York Yankees — no clues were forthcoming.
“We'll see,” he said.
In Miami, where the Heat introduced Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis Jr. as their newest forwards on Thursday, team president Pat Riley acknowledged there have been talks about a reunion with James.
But the Heat don't seem to have any hints either.
“Right now, I think we’re like everybody else,” Riley said. “We’re just waiting to see what he does and then we’ll see what happens.”
James is the NBA’s oldest active player at 41 and the only player in league history to have a career spanning 23 seasons; this coming season will be his 24th. Speculation has been rampant for more than two months about his future, officially starting in May when the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.
At that time, James said he didn’t know what he would be doing.
And the only developments that he’s revealed since came on June 30, when he said he would play this coming season and that he was leaving the Lakers after an eight-season run highlighted by the 2020 NBA title.
For more than two weeks, the NBA has been waiting to hear what comes next. James, as he did in a social media post at the time, lauded his time with the Lakers, who also offered him well wishes as he moves forward.
“I spent eight great years with the Los Angeles Lakers,” James said.
James’ resume is beyond compare in NBA history. He’s a 22-time All-Star, a 21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP, and was a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.
He’s also coming off a season where he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. For his career, he’s averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in more than 1,600 games.
James started his career in Cleveland in 2003 and spent seven seasons with the Cavaliers before heading to Miami for four seasons — where he won his first two titles. He then returned to Cleveland for four more seasons, leaving in 2018 to start an eight-season run with the Lakers.
Cleveland and Miami are believed to be on James' radar again as he weighs this decision, as are several other teams including Philadelphia, Minnesota and Golden State.
“I’m looking forward to what comes next as I wind down my journey,” James said.
Reynolds reported from Miami.
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FILE - Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James throws chalk in the air before an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
