Mark Few earns another Team USA opportunity ahead of 2028 Olympics

Few won a gold medal in Paris in 2024 with Team USA

Aug 10, 2024; Paris, France; United States assistant coach Erik Spoelstra takes a selfie with head coach Steve Kerr and assistant coach Tyronn Lue and assistant coach Mark Few in the men's basketball gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few could be on his way toward another gold medal after he was selected as one of three assistant coaches under new head coach Erik Spoelstra for the United States men's national team ahead of the 2027 FIBA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.

Spoelstra, an alumnus of the Portland Pilots and longtime head coach of the Miami Heat, will replace Steve Kerr as Team USA's head coach ahead of this upcoming cycle, while Few will be joined by Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault and Detroit Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff as assistants.

Few has plenty of experience with USA Basketball, including as an assistant under Kerr for the 2023 FIBA World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics - where a team led by Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis beat France for a gold medal.

USA Basketball is expected to name Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault, Detroit's JB Bickerstaff and Gonzaga's Mark Few as assistant coaches for national team coach Erik Spoelstra's staff, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/fLD5EQNlxe

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 14, 2026

Prior to that, Few was an assistant at the 2018 USA National Team minicamp and an assistant for the USA Select Team in both 2019 and 2021. He also coached a group of college players at the 2015 U.S. Pan American Games, leading them to a gold medal, and was on staff for the 2012 U18 National Team and 2009 U19 World Cup Team training camp.

"He’s just a guy that likes to coach basketball, develop programs, develop players, make them better than when they first arrived on campus," Spoelstra said of Few back in 2024 prior to the Olympics. "He’s a brilliant basketball coach. One of the very best in this business.”

What it means for Few and Gonzaga

May 20, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Few has accomplished nearly all you can accomplish as a college head coach, with a national championship victory still eluding him. A chance for a second gold medal is certainly tantalizing, and it keeps Gonzaga's brand recognition sky-high to have him as the lone college coach with Team USA.

Last year, Few was the lone representative from Gonzaga with Team USA, although many of his former players - including Kelly Olynyk and Andrew Nembhard (Canada), Filip Petrusev (Serbia), and Rui Hachimura (Japan) participated.

That could be different in 2028, with Chet Holmgren named to the 41-man player pool ahead of the 2024 Olympics, before he was cut in the move down to 12 players.

Since then, Holmgren - under fellow Team USA assistant coach Daigneault - has won a championship and made an All-Star game, and it would not be a surprise to see him competing for a coveted spot in the frontcourt in Los Angeles in 2028.