Duke's Kara Lawson named coach of U.S. women's team

Duke head coach Kara Lawson was named to lead the U.S. women's basketball team on Monday.

A gold medalist as a player in 2008 and an assistant coach on the championship team in 2024, Lawson will look to complete the Olympic trifecta at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

"To win a gold medal as a player was amazing, and one of the earliest goals that I set out when I was young," Lawson told ESPN. "I think that is what drives you because you know how great that feels and you want the players you coach to experience that. You get to have this permanent memory in your sport and so the goal is to try to help them create that for themselves at the different world events."

Lawson, 44, has led the Blue Devils since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. She has compiled a 97-41 record with three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

She takes the Team USA reins from Cheryl Reeve, head coach of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Reeve guided the U.S. to its eighth straight gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Lawson inherits an international powerhouse that is riding a 60-game Olympic winning streak but narrowly escaped in the 2024 final by edging France, 67-66.

"The international game has never been more competitive on the women's side," Lawson said. "And I think the roster for the U.S. women has always been the most competitive roster to make. I would argue in any sport, it's the hardest roster to make. But this might be the hardest of the hardest roster to make. Because there's so many good veterans that have won a lot for our country. And there's an amazing group of young players that are already competing at this level."

Lawson was a point guard at Tennessee before being selected No. 5 overall in the 2003 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock. She averaged 9.8 points in 13 WNBA seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs, Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics, making the All-Star team in 2007 and winning a title in 2005.

Lawson was an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics in 2019-20 before taking over at Duke.