MANILA -- Behind the United States men's basketball team that finished fourth in the FIBA World Cup 2023 is an even more distinguished coaching staff that has combined for multiple championships in all levels of the sport.

Headed by Golden State Warriors' four-time champion coach Steve Kerr, Team USA has two-time champion Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat), 2016 NBA champion coach Tyronn Lue (Los Angeles Clippers), two-time NCAA winner Mark Few (Gonzaga University), and shooting maestro Chip Engelland as part of its staff.

Jeff Van Gundy, who served as the lead tactician throughout a two-year qualification process, also flew to Manila to assist the squad.

Kerr describes the learning experience as "amazing," given how many brilliant minds have joined him throughout the process.

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"To coach with Mark Few, and Spo, and Ty, all three of them immediately said yes when I called them to ask them if they wanted to be on the staff," Kerr remarked.

The youngest of the pack is Lue, 46, who is in his seventh year as a head coach. Lue began his post-playing career as an assistant for Doc Rivers with the Boston Celtics, before becoming the Cleveland Cavaliers' mentor in 2016.

Coincidentally, Lue beat Kerr that year to guide LeBron James to a title for Cleveland, before the latter's Warriors would dominate with back-to-back crowns from 2017 to 2018.

Now on the same side, Lue said it's "been great" to learn from each other.

"Having great basketball minds in the same room, learning from Mark, learning from Steve, learning from Spo have been great," Lue said.

"I'm a young coach in the game, so I'm soaking up all the knowledge I can get. It's been very important for me. It's been good. It's been a great experience."

Kerr added that during the group stage, he assigned three of his assistants one game each to spearhead the planning and scouting, giving them the opportunity to lead as well.

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"It’s pretty amazing for me to be able to lean on them, to turn to one of them to run a drill or talk to the team or decide on a scheme or suggest a play," Kerr said.

"These guys are all world-class coaches. I think part of the experience for me as a coach is not only to coach these young great players but also to coach with this staff. We all learn from each other and have a lot of fun together. It’s a great vibe."

More than his fellow coaches' capabilities to draw up plays or run an effective system, Few furthered that it is "enjoyable to be around" his contemporaries who are revered for their admirable personalities.

"At my age and as long as I have, those don’t come along very often so it’s just an awesome environment to learn from and just to share experiences with them," he said.

"I just can’t emphasize just how good people they are. I just think our personalities match really well together, and it just starts with massive amount of respect for the people that they are."

A new set of players is expected to lead Team USA in the Paris Olympics next year, as has been the usual case for the squad during FIBA cycles.

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As he moves on to the next challenge, Kerr said he will look back at what this iteration of the team has built, looking to replicate the same approach in 2024.

"The camaraderie, the commitment of this group, the energy that we bring every day, they care about each other, the chemistry of the staff and the team, we just have a great group of people. We put a lot into this."

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