Steve Kerr Reveals How His Time with Chicago Bulls Helps Him Lead Golden State Warriors to Success

Steve Kerr is part of an exclusive gang of NBA coaches who have won championships, both as player and coach. He was part of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls that won a three-peat from 1996 to 1998 and he also won two titles with Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. Then as a coach, he led the Golden State Warriors to three titles, the last one coming in 2018.

While speaking to David Aldridge and BIG Wos on the Hoops Adjacent podcast, Kerr says that his time at the Bulls helped him to be a better coach at the Warriors.

“I think that experience really did help me, coaching our own group in Golden State over the last few years. ‘Cause I was really able to think about the fatigue, the emotional and the spiritual fatigue, that sets in when you’re trying to do something year after year like we did in Chicago, and again in Golden State. So that experience really came in handy for me as a coach.”

Golden State Warriors: Making History

In 2015, Kerr led the Warriors to their first title since 1975. They beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, and that was the start of a fantastic team run. In the next four years, they made the NBA Finals every season, winning two more titles. Only one team had a similar run like this, and it was the Boston Celtics back in the 1960s. But doing it in such a competitive era makes this one of Kerr’s biggest achievements with the team.

While playing for the Bulls, Kerr had his share of making deep playoff runs every season. So when he coached the Warriors he knew what the players were dealing with and could understand them better.

Recently, Warriors’ two-time MVP, Steph Curry also admitted that not playing this season was actually a much-needed break for him. And he plans to return stronger. “It was a crazy year with my hand injury, Klay (Thompson) being out all year, Draymond (Green) in and out of the lineup with injuries all year, a lot of new young guys. It was definitely different. This could be a blessing in disguise, in terms of this next 3-4 year run we want to have — (a chance to) get rested, get healthy.”

Curry looks like he is on a mission to repeat their success from previous years. With Klay Thompson returning next season too, it doesn’t seem impossible. Kerr is the perfect man to lead such an ambitious team.