MIAMI -- Gregg Popovich is hardly one to put out "Popovich for 2016" posters. But LeBron James might do some campaigning for him.
James, the Miami forward, said Tuesday that Popovich, who has coached San Antonio to four NBA titles, would be a great choice for U.S. Olympic coach in 2016 if Mike Krzyzewski doesn't return.
"Absolutely," James said when asked by FOX Sports Florida about that possibility. "He knows the game. He knows the players. And he's coached enough stars at San Antonio. I think he'd be great (as Olympic coach). If Coach K decides he doesn't want to do it any more, I think Coach Popovich would be a great candidate. His resume speaks for itself."
Popovich has Olympic experience. He served as an assistant to Larry Brown in the 2004 Athens Games, although Team USA managed just a bronze medal.
That was an extremely young team, which featured James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony playing the summer after their NBA rookie seasons. Those three earned gold medals four years later in Beijing under Krzyzewski and are expected to be on this year's team in London.
It would be a surprise if Krzyzewski is back for 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Wade, a Miami guard, already has said 2012 will his last Olympics, but it's possible James and Anthony, a New York forward, still could be around for what would be a Team USA record fourth Olympic appearance.
"Don't commit me yet," James said of 2016. "We'll see."
As for Popovich, 62, is he interested in being a future Olympic coach? He was noncommittal when asked Tuesday.
"I don't even think about stuff like that," Popovich said before a 120-98 loss to the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I just worry about tonight."
Popovich was the odd man out when USA Chairman Jerry Colangelo selected in 2005 Duke's Krzyzewski to be Team USA coach. Krzyzewski, 64, has steered the Americans to a bronze medal in the 2006 World Championship in Japan, the gold in Beijing in 2008 and a gold in the 2010 World Championship in Turkey.
It remains to be seen what will happen with USA Basketball after the London Games and who will be running the show. Colangelo is 72.
Other candidates to be the next Olympic coach could include current Team USA assistants Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Nate McMillan of the Portland Trail Blazers and Mike D'Antoni of the Knicks.
"I don't know what they look for," said Richard Jefferson, who played for Popovich in the 2004 Olympics when Jefferson was with New Jersey and is now a Spurs forward. "They went with a college coach (before). Maybe they'll want another college coach."
Jefferson wouldn't speculate about whether he believes Popovich would be a good candidate.
"If that's something that he wants to do, that's probably a better question for him to answer," Jefferson said. "There's a lot of quality coaches and qualified individuals for that job. So it just depends on who wants it."
Spurs guard Tony Parker, though, believes Popovich would be an ideal candidate. Parker, a native of France, will play against the Americans in the 2012 Games.
"He'd be a great (Team USA) coach. Pop knows European basketball," said Parker, referring to some of the top foes the Americans would face. "He's always traveling to Europe. He's always coming to watch me play European Championships. He knows European basketball for sure."
Stay tuned to see if Parker might be going against Popovich in Brazil in 2016. And stay tuned to see if James might be playing for Popovich.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson.
