The Golden State Warriors re-signed Draymond Green at the start of 2023 NBA free agency, keeping the core of its dynasty together for at least one more year. Warriors coach Steve Kerr has been a key part of that core, leading the group to its first of four rings in the season that he joined Golden State. What makes Steve Kerr such a special head coach?
The answer might be found in the coaches for whom Kerr played, according to former NBA player Bob Elliott. A past chairman of the National Basketball Retired Players Association who attended Arizona a decade before Kerr, Elliott believes Kerr was heavily influenced by having played for Lute Olson, Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich.
“In college, he had Lute Olson, who at Arizona was a teacher,” Elliott told ClutchPoints at Las Vegas Summer League. “Then also had the Chicago Bulls with Phil Jackson.
“Phil was also academic in his approach, but he had the Zen deal going on, right? How to deal with the personalities of the players that you have. Then Steve goes to San Antonio with Popovich, who literally is a basketball genius. So Steve had tutelage from those three guys. Now he gets up here taking pieces from all of them, and that's why he's gonna be the USA Basketball coach.”
Elliott also praised Kerr for the Warriors' constant movement on offense.
Kerr played two stints late in his career for the Spurs and has called Popovich his “mentor.” The Warriors' coach has credited Jackson for his philosophy in handling bench players. When it comes to Olson, Kerr has said that he can't put into words how much the Arizona coach has meant to him.
Kerr, Jackson and Popovich are only three of five NBA head coaches who have coached more than 650 games and won at least 64% of those contests.
Watch ClutchPoints' full Bob Elliott interview:
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