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The Golden State Warriors are once again on a dominant path that they know all too well, but head coach Steve Kerr wants his players to, as they say, take a pause and smell the flowers.
All eyes will be at Staples Center Monday night, not because of the defending world champions' presence in town, but due to the much-awaited retirement ceremony of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Only a few years removed from his final game, Bryant will be front and center in a historic event where his two jerseys, No.8 and No.24, will be lifted up the rafters alongside the franchise's other greats.
Kerr, ever the players' coach, will not steal a piece of history away from his troops. Rather, he'd let them savor the atmosphere during the ultimate celebration of Kobe Bryant's career.
Via ESPN's Chris Haynes:
“Just the experience in seeing one of the greatest players in the history of the game getting his jersey retired and we happen to be there,” Kerr said after practice Saturday. “I'm not going to keep them in the locker room to watch tape of the first half. The players would look at me like I was nuts. There's something interesting going on the floor. Let's go out there.”
Much like the Warriors being the NBA's most dominant figure over the past few years, Kobe Bryant was also the focal point, along with Shaquille O'Neal, of a Lakers squad that won three straight championships to start the millennium. He even went on to spearhead Los Angeles to a back-to-back title run to close the first decade of the 2000s.
Most of the players today grew up idolizing Bryant, so one can only imagine how big of a deal this is for Golden State.
Once the air of celebration clears, though, it will be back to business for Steve Kerr and the Warriors, who will look to take another one from the Lakers and inch closer to the league-leading Houston Rockets in the team standings.
