Will Paolo Banchero be a good fit for the new USA coach?

The Avengers have a new *Nick Fury at the helm.

(*In case you forgot, Nick Fury was the character played by Samuel L. Jackson in those Avenger movies you might have seen in the 2010s. Nick Fury wore an eye patch and would show up out of the blue to recruit superheroes to join his super team of superheroes so he could organize schemes to fight bad guys, kinda like Team USA basketball coaches!)

Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra has reportedly been dubbed the next Head Coach of Team USA Basketball, expected to take the reigns by the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

Tracking the Team USA Olympic Head Coaches back to 1976 reveals nothing but no-skip classics, the cream of the crop of some of the best basketball minds to ever coach the game.

Coach Spo joins a long list of the best of the best, succeeding Steve Kerr who held the role since 2022, and following in the footsteps of Gregg Popovich, Coach K, Larry Brown, Rudy Tomjanovich, Lenny Wilkens, Chuck Daly, John Thompson, Bob Knight, and Dean Smith.

Spoelstra coaching — Dec 26, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra motions to the court during the second quarter against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero spent some time with Coach Spo at the 2023 World Cup, with Paolo experimenting with a small-ball five role under Coach Kerr and Spoelstra on staff.

In theory, Banchero at the five brings an offensive ying in a similar archetype and build to a Draymond-at-the-five defensive yang. Flank him with shooters and quick processing two-way wings and there's fun small-ball combinations to be had, ideally not too dissimilar from simply surrounding a big creator star like LeBron or Jokic with play-finishers and floor-spacers.

Will we see Paolo used this way in Orlando under Coach Mosley and this roster's new spacing?

Or could the lineup options offered by Team USA's roster along with the international's team-first ball-movement skill-ball style of play be a better avenue for Coach Spoelstra to continue this small-ball trend sought out by Coach Kerr?

How Grant Hill and the Olympics front office group decides to build the team's roster will go a long way in determining the options Spoelstra has to build lineups and find the best role to get the most out of Paolo's rare bullyball tough-shotmaking downhill creation skillset.

When asked about Coach Erik Spoelstra in their time together competing in the 2023 World Cup, Paolo says the first word that comes to mind to describe what stands out about Coach Spo is, funny enough, the same word that his Magic teammates used when describing what makes Jamahl Mosley such an impactful coach – energy.

I would say just energy every day, consistent energy, intensity as a coach. He’s always live. He’s always ready – locked in. And you can see why he’s such an elite coach and why he has been for a long time.
Paolo Banchero