Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had an extremely eventful NBA career dating back to his playing days. He competed for 16 seasons, won five titles, appeared in 128 playoff games, and is still the league's all-time 3-point percentage leader. He played for the late '90s Bulls, the Jail Blazers, and championship-winning San Antonio Spurs teams.
Despite all the success playing professional basketball, Kerr misses his post-retirement pick-up days the most. The Warriors head coach cracked that he “actually enjoyed the pickup ball more than the NBA because I was finally the most talented player on the floor. I could actually cross somebody up and get to the rim.”
Unfortunately for Kerr, knee problems halted his hoops (and tennis) career before he landed with the Warriors (via NBC Sports Chicago).
“I retired when I was 37…And I played pickup basketball every Sunday,” the Warriors coach told K.C. Johnson. “And I played basketball all the way until I was about 45. And I was grinding…When I turned 43, literally in the same month, each knee kind of ran out of cartilage…I was devastated. My whole life, I played. There was so much wear and tear from my playing days and my post-playing days.”
“You miss the feeling of the freedom and the flow and the energy. You start making some shots and you’re running and you get this incredible workout and at the end of the games, you’re just exhausted but in an incredibly satisfying way. And then you go home and throw the ice bags on the knee and watch football or something.”
The Warriors coach's genuine passion for playing the game of basketball, even at the pick-up level, was evident.
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