Leading Team USA for the first time, Steve Kerr knows that coaching a squad for international competitions will bring a different set of challenges than manning the Warriors' bench.
That is why he will be leaning on two players he knows can lead a young team: New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges.
"I will definitely go into this with a vision of Jalen Brunson taking on a pretty big role, given the way he plays, his success at the FIBA level in past tournaments," Kerr told reporters Friday, per The Athletic's Joe Vardon.
Brunson is the only player on this iteration of Team USA who has played in any sort of international competition. The 26-year-old won gold as a member of Team USA in the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in 2014 and earned the MVP of the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in 2015.
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Also, in his first season with the Knicks, Brunson averaged 24 points, 6.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 35 minutes per game. He also shot 49.1 percent from the field and 41.6 percent from beyond the arc.
With Kerr tapping Brunson with leading the offense, Bridges will help anchor the defense because of his versatility and switchability.
"There's no question in my mind that Mikal Bridges is going to be a huge factor for us defensively," Kerr added. "As a coach, you go into these things and you say, 'Well, who is gonna guard Luka (Dončić), or who's gonna guard Giannis (Antetokounmpo)? One of the reasons we built the roster the way we did is we have multiple options for these sorts of things."
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Bridges, a 6-foot-6 guard/forward, has a 7-foot-1 wingspan that can give anyone difficulty on the offensive end. Kerr knows firsthand what Bridges can do, as the Warriors have faced the former Phoenix Sun 18 times.
Known primarily as a defensive stopper, Bridges' offense took the next step after being dealt to the Nets at the trade deadline.
In 27 games with the Nets, Bridges averaged 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.2 minutes per game. More impressively, he shot 47.5 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Along with Brunson and Bridges are Paolo Banchero, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Bobby Portis and Austin Reaves.
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As a member of Gregg Popovich's Team USA coaching staff during the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Kerr knows that lengthy, hyper-switchable players are what he needs in order to bring home the gold medal against the rest of the world.
And with Kerr coaching a versatile squad led by a sweet-shooting guard and a defensive-minded forward, the sky is the limit for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup.
