Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently opened up about his first meeting with former Chicago Bulls teammate Michael Jordan.
Even before he joined forces with MJ in the Windy City, Kerr already had a chance to meet Jordan in the flesh. This occurrence transpired on the basketball court, when a young Kerr, then with the Cleveland Cavaliers, went against Jordan in the Bulls.
“I think guarding him was the first time I actually met him,” Steve Kerr said, via Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “Craig Ehlo was injured (for the Cavs), so I started at the 2 in that game. I guarded Michael and he guarded me. Talk about the all-time mismatch physically. I was a buck-eighty.”
As he described above, Kerr had the unenviable task of having to guard one of the greatest players ever. As it turns out, he was able to hold his own against the legend — or so he thought.
“I remember I made the first shot of the game with him on me, felt really good about that, and then six minutes into the game he hadn’t scored,” Steve Kerr narrated. “I was thinking, sitting there during a timeout, ‘Michael hasn’t even scored yet. I’m doing pretty well.’ I thought about it and I realized he hadn’t even taken a shot yet. He’s been passing to all his teammates. ‘Why hasn’t he shot yet?’ And then over the next four minutes he just torched me. Made like six straight shots and then Lenny Wilkens took me out. By the end of the game he had like 48, I finished with two. Just that first bucket of the game. That was my welcome to the ‘Michael Jordan World’ moment.”
That's a pretty funny story from Kerr, who obviously has no problems talking about how Michael Jordan absolutely gutted him during their first-ever meeting. All's well that ends well, though, as Kerr won three NBA titles playing alongside MJ with the famed Chicago Bulls.
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