USA Basketball names Reeve's assistants as Americans chase 8th straight Olympic gold

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve will have Mike Thibault, Duke coach Kara Lawson and Texas A&M coach Joni Taylor as her assistants at the Paris Olympics.

USA Basketball announced Reeve's coaching staff for the women's national team Tuesday. It keeps together the staff that clinched an automatic berth for the 2024 Olympics by winning the World Cup.

“Each has different strengths they bring to the table, and I'm looking forward to working with them for the run in Paris,” said Reeve, who is coach and general manager of the Minnesota Lynx.

The Americans will be trying to win an eighth straight and 11th Olympic gold overall dating back to 1996 when the Games start on July 26.

Thibault has coached with USA Basketball since 1993. He was an assistant coach when the U.S. women won gold at the 2008 Beijing Games and 2007 FIBA Americas Championship. Currently Washington's general manager, he is the WNBA’s winningest coach, with 379 wins over 20 years.

Lawson, who started playing for USA Basketball in 1998 and won Olympic gold in 2008, coached the U.S. women to the 3x3 Olympic gold in 2021 at the Tokyo Games. She has coached at Duke since 2020 and was an assistant coach with the NBA’s Boston Celtics during the 2019-20 season.

Taylor was head coach of the 2023 U.S. U-19 national team that won the World Cup and is making her sixth appearance with USA Basketball. She is in her second season at Texas A&M after going 140-75 in seven seasons at Georgia.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games