Kara Lawson has a new job.
Lawson will coach the U.S. women’s basketball team at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, where the Americans will be seeking a ninth consecutive gold medal. Lawson also will lead the Americans at next year’s FIBA World Cup, as well as at training camps and exhibitions.
She will continue to coach at Duke.
‘Having shared the court with her, I know firsthand the leadership, competitive spirit and basketball IQ that she brings,’ Sue Bird, who earlier this year became the first managing director of the U.S. women’s team, said in a statement Monday announcing Lawson’s appointment.
‘Kara has always had the respect of her teammates and her players, something she has earned and demonstrated over decades with USA Basketball.’
Lawson has a long history with USA Basketball, both as a player and coach. She played on the U.S. team that won gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and was an assistant to Cheryl Reeve at last summer’s Paris Games, where the Americans won an unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal.
Lawson also was head coach of the 3×3 team that won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I will work tirelessly to uphold the standards of this storied program,’ Lawson said in the statement announcing her appointment. ‘There is no greater honor in our sport than to be chosen to lead the U.S. women in world competition.’
Lawson’s appointment is not a surprise. USA Basketball often taps assistants on previous teams to be the next head coach, in part because of their familiarity with both the U.S. player pool and the unique challenges of international basketball.
While Lawson will have the best players in the world at her disposal — A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas, who finished 1-2-3 in voting for the WNBA MVP award announced Sunday, were all part of the Paris team — the job will not be a cakewalk. The pressure to continue the U.S. women’s gold-medal streak is immense, and recent tournaments have shown that the rest of the world is closing the gap on the Americans.
In the gold-medal game against France at the Paris Olympics, the U.S. women trailed by 10 early in the second half, their largest deficit of the entire tournament. They needed a late bucket from Kahleah Copper, clutch free throws by Wilson and a block by Brenna Stewart to hold off Les Bleues, 67-66.
At the Olympic qualifying tournament earlier that year, the U.S. women escaped with an 81-79 win over Belgium thanks to Stewart’s last-second tip-in.
‘I understand the responsibility and the challenges that lie ahead,’ Lawson said. ‘I look forward to meeting them head on.’
Lawson is 97-41 in five years at Duke, including 20-win campaigns each of the last three seasons. The Blue Devils reached the Elite Eight this year, their best result since 2013.
As a player, Lawson spent 13 seasons in the WNBA, winning the 2005 championship with the Sacramento Monarchs. She was two-time All-American at Tennessee, where she led the Lady Vols to Final Four appearances in 2000, 2002 and 2003.