Thomas Hughes 
USA Basketball has announced that former NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer Grant Hill has been selected as the next Managing Director of the Men’s National Team. Hill will take over for Jerry Colangelo, whose 16-year stint as the team’s Director will end after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Hill, currently a broadcaster with TNT, played 19 seasons in the NBA, most notably with the Detroit Pistons. A seven time NBA All-Star and five time All-NBA selection, Hill also played on five USA Basketball squads, including the 1996 Olympic “Dream Team III,” which won a gold medal.
“It is a tremendous honor,” Hill said in a press release. “I am confident USA Basketball will continue to showcase the top talent and highest character players in our country.” Hill said the club is uniquely positioned for growth and development.
Colangelo was named managing director in 2005, after the Men’s Team earned a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, a disappointing result for a squad expecting to score the gold. He rebuilt the team with fresh NBA and collegiate talent, and hired Duke University Coach Mike Krzyzewski to lead the team on the court. The rebuild was successful, with the team winning Olympic gold medals in 2008, 2012, and 2016.
Colangelo is a titan in the sports world. He was originally an executive and coach with the Phoenix Suns for several decades, won a World Series ring as CEO of the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, was a member of the WNBA’s founding committee, and served as the Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors, among other roles. He is himself a 2004 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, for which he now serves as Chairman.
Grant Hill played four seasons at Duke University, winning two NCAA National Championships along the way. He was inducted into the NMB Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Men’s Team, which has already qualified for this summer’s games, most recently played in late February, 2021, defeating Mexico 96-75 in a FIBA 2022 qualifying game. The squad is expected to announce its final lineup for the Tokyo Games in the coming months. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be held in July, 2021, due to the postponement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers have announced the games will be held without public spectators.
