Duke head coach Kara Lawson is headed to the 2024 Paris Olympics as an assistant coach for the USA Women’s National Team, she announced at Tuesday's media availability. She will be joining fellow collegiate coach Joni Taylor of Texas A&M and Mike Thibault from the WNBA’s Washington Mystics as assistants.
“I'm really excited for the opportunity to be on staff with the same group I was on staff with at the World Cup a couple years ago,” Lawson said. “Obviously the chance to coach in an Olympics is definitely bucket list.”
Lawson assisted this team to a gold medal at the FIBA Women’s World Cup in 2022, and was the head coach for the National 3x3 team that has won seven gold medals since 2017. She has extensive experience in the playing ranks of the Olympics, winning gold in 2008 in Beijing. Lawson joins only Anne Donovan and Dawn Staley in earning gold medals as both a player and head coach.
“One of the greatest periods of growth for me as a coach was that month I spent with USA Basketball,” Lawson said. “Getting a chance to work with all the people on the staff, the coaches meetings, learning, scheming, scouting, all those things made me a lot better.”
Cheryl Reeve, who is the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx and the USA Women’s National Team, led the team that scrimmaged against Duke in November, defeating the Blue Devils 87-58.
“Kara, what just oozes off of her is just a love for the game,” Reeves said after the contest. “Certainly, Kara, the person that she is, I think that she's the epitome of USA Basketball. Kara is a junkie, she's a basketball junkie.”
The fourth-year Blue Devil head coach is widely respected within USA Basketball circles, and is quickly rising in their coaching ranks. The Women’s National Team has been extremely successful of late, winning seven straight Olympic gold medals.
The 2024 Olympics begin July 26 and the women’s 5-on-5 competition starts a day after.
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Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity sophomore and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.