Steve Kerr and Steph Curry have won four titles and an Olympic gold medal in 12 seasons together.
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The Golden State Warriors built a legitimate dynasty, winning three titles in five years and four in eight. But for Golden State’s championship core, Father Time is approaching. Steph Curry is 37, Draymond Green is 35 and Klay Thompson is no longer with the organization. Head coach Steve Kerr, winner of nine total championships as a player and coach, is in the final year of his contract.
Kerr sat down with Zena Keita of “The Athletic Show” to discuss the Warriors’ journey for another title and his fondest memories of Golden State’s remarkable run.
The Warriors found new life after acquiring Jimmy Butler in a trade last season and then beating the second-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. Curry then suffered a hamstring strain in the ensuing series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the season suddenly came to an end. Kerr said he’s relishing every second he gets with Curry and Green.
“I think it’s the attempt when you’re in it that is the most important thing,” Kerr said. “Obviously, we all know rings culture. We all focus on who won. But there is something beautiful in the fight, in the quest.
“And because we love it so much, because we love what we do, there really is a beauty in the collaboration, the journey, the quest to hang in there and maybe reach the top of the mountain one more time. You just can’t quantify it. But we all know inside what that journey means to us.”
Kerr has been alongside Curry and Green for 12 seasons, remarkable longevity for a player-coach relationship. But the Warriors coach has had his eyes on Curry for much longer than that. He remembers going to see Curry play during his sophomore year at Davidson with then-Phoenix Suns scout Bruce Fraser, when Kerr was the Suns’ general manager. Fraser has been an assistant coach on Kerr’s Warriors staff since Kerr arrived in 2014 and has developed a close bond with Curry.
“We were mesmerized by his skill and his charisma, just the way he moved, and we kind of looked at each other, and we’re like, maybe he could be the next (Steve) Nash,” Kerr said. “And that’s why we really pushed hard and almost had a trade the day of the draft for (him) in Phoenix, and it fell through. Thank God it did.”
In 2014, Kerr got his chance to work with Curry when he became Golden State’s head coach. The Warriors had reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons under Mark Jackson, but Kerr was brought in to help the team move forward. Golden State won the title in Kerr’s first season.
Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry won an NBA championship in their first season together in 2014-15.
“When I got here five years later (after Curry was drafted, Curry) had already established himself as an All-Star,” Kerr said. “And my goal was just to help him get even better and win a championship. And we were able to do that in year one and win three more and form a partnership that I will be grateful for (for) my entire life because it goes way beyond how good he is as a basketball player.
“He is one of the finest human beings I’ve ever been around in my life. And just to come to work every day and see Steph has made this job everything.”
Curry is in his 17th NBA season. He, along with counterparts LeBron James and Kevin Durant, remains one of the best players in the game. They have redefined how much consistency is possible in a long career. Kerr has seen the greats of many different eras firsthand, including Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan, his former teammates.
“Jordan was probably the first guy to ever have his own private trainer back in the mid-90s,” Kerr said. “Tim Grover was actually quite famous at the time because of his affiliation with Michael, but Michael was the only guy who did that. Now, every player on our roster has a private trainer, pretty much. But when you start thinking about the money these guys are making, especially the guys at the top, LeBron and Steph, it’s really no big deal for them to hire as many people as they want to help them with their body, their mind, their training.
“And so when you combine that with the knowledge that we have, I mean, when I talked to our training staff, what they know now compared to 15 years ago is so extreme, so dramatic.”
Kerr coached Curry, James and Durant as members of the U.S. Olympic Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where they won gold. The semifinal and final matches against Serbia and France came down to the wire. Curry had 36 points against Serbia and hit a game-clinching 3 in the gold medal match. Kerr said he was thrilled to see Curry get his moment of glory on the world stage.
“The thing that will stick with me forever is that LeBron and Kevin in that moment deferred to Steph,” Kerr said. “And it showed you their respect for him, and it also showed you the type of basketball players they are, how unselfish they are, because Steph had it going.
“They recognized it, and they weren’t running away from anything. They were saying, you take us home because you got it going and we trust you. … It was just beautiful to see how those three guys operated together.”
While he recognizes the role everyone in the Warriors organization has played during this run, Kerr has also been aware of the luck that comes with forming a dynasty. The Warriors franchise had been searching for a generational player like Curry for decades until he arrived.
“Did the Warriors go 40 years without a Steph? Probably,” Kerr said. “So that’s where you have to get lucky in the NBA. You have to be good in terms of organizationally locating people, finding people who can play, but also drafting and signing the right kind of people who you believe in, the quality, the character of the people.
“But you could do that for 20 years in a row and get every decision and still not find the next Steph. So you’ve got to count your blessings when you coach a guy like this.”
Kerr isn’t sure if the Warriors have another run in them. An older roster has struggled with injuries early in the season. Their run to the conference semifinals last season before Curry’s injury gives them hope that there’s enough juice for one more run. But he is sure of one thing.
“I will never leave Steph Curry,” he said.
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Jordy Fee-Platt is a Trending Writer for The Athletic. Before joining The Athletic, Fee-Platt was the Broadcasting and PR Associate for the Hudson Valley Renegades, High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. He has also been a writer and editor for Hoops HQ, a college basketball website. Jordy is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Cronkite School, where he covered Phoenix pro sports, including the 2023 World Series. He hails from San Francisco, CA. Follow Jordy on Twitter @jfeep
