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Steve Kerr
Joe Biden Steph Curry Steve Kerr P20230117AS-1347 (cropped) (cropped).jpg
Kerr in 2023
Golden State Warriors
Head coach
Personal information
Born (1965-09-27) September 27, 1965 (age 59)
Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality American
High school Palisades Charter
(Los Angeles, California)
Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight 180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
College Arizona (1983–1988)
NBA Draft 1988 / Round: 2 / Pick: 50th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Pro career 1988–2003
Coaching career 2014–present
League NBA
Career history
As player:
1988–1989 Phoenix Suns
1989–1992 Cleveland Cavaliers
1992–1993 Orlando Magic
1993–1998 Chicago Bulls
1999–2001 San Antonio Spurs
2001–2002 Portland Trail Blazers
2002–2003 San Antonio Spurs
As coach:
2014–present Golden State Warriors
2021–present U.S. national team
Career highlights and awards
As player:
  • 5× NBA champion (1996–1999, 2003)
  • NBA Three-Point Contest champion (1997)
  • Second-team All-American – AP (1988)
  • Third-team All-American – NABC (1988)
  • 2× First-team All-Pac-10 (1986, 1988)
  • No. 25 retired by Arizona Wildcats

As coach:

  • 4× NBA champion (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)
  • NBA Coach of the Year (2016)
  • 2× NBA All-Star Game head coach (2015, 2017)
  • Top 15 Coaches in NBA History
Career NBA statistics
Points 5,437 (6.0 ppg)
Rebounds 1,060 (1.2 rpg)
Assists 1,658 (1.8 apg)
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA World Championship
Gold 1986 Spain National team
Olympic Games
Assistant coach for the  United States
Gold 2020 Tokyo Team

Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known as one of the most accurate three-point shooters in NBA history. Kerr is a nine-time NBA champion, having won five titles as a player and four as head coach of the Warriors.

Early life and international play

Kerr was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Malcolm H. Kerr Ann (Zwicker). He has three siblings. Kerr spent much of his childhood in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries. He attended Cairo American College in Egypt, the American Community School in Beirut, Lebanon, and Palisades High School (now Palisades Charter High School) in Los Angeles, graduating in 1983.

In the summer of 1986, Kerr was named to the U.S. national team that competed in the FIBA World Championship in Spain. The team was the last American men's senior squad composed strictly of amateur players to capture a gold medal. Kerr suffered a knee injury during the tournament.

College career

Steve Kerr - Arizona Wildcats
Kerr with the Arizona Wildcats in 1987

Kerr played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats. He was a two-time first-team all-conference player in the Pac-10 (now known as the Pac-12) and earned All-American honors as a senior in 1988. In the 1987-88 season, Kerr set the NCAA single-season three-point field goal percentage record (57.3%).

Kerr graduated from the University of Arizona in 1988 with a Bachelor of General Studies, with an emphasis on history, sociology and English.

Professional career

Kerr was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the 1988 NBA draft. In 1989, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In more than three seasons with the Cavs, Kerr set the team's franchise single-season (.507, 1989–90) and career three-point field goal percentage (.472) records.

Kerr played 15 seasons in the NBA and won five NBA championships as a player--three with the Chicago Bulls and two with the San Antonio Spurs--and retired as the league's all-time leader in single-season three-point shooting percentage (.524 in 1994–95) and career three-point shooting percentage (.454). As of 2023, he is the only NBA player to win four straight NBA titles after 1969.

Broadcaster and commentator

In 2003, Kerr became a broadcast analyst for Turner Network Television (TNT), offering commentary alongside analyst Marv Albert.

Kerr has provided his voice for the in-game commentary of EA Sports video games NBA Live 06, NBA Live 07, NBA Live 08, NBA Live 09 and NBA Live 10 with Albert. He has also provided his voice as a color analyst for NBA 2K12, NBA 2K13, NBA 2K14 and NBA 2K15. Kerr remained a commentator in NBA 2K15 despite becoming the Golden State Warriors coach for the 2014–15 season several months prior to the game's release. His commentary also appears during All-Star play in the seventh gen port of NBA 2K16.

Kerr left broadcasting in 2007 to become general manager for the Phoenix Suns, but it was confirmed on June 28, 2010, that he would return as an NBA analyst for TNT starting with the 2010–11 NBA season. In 2011, he also called the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship on Turner Sports and CBS, teaming up with lead broadcasters Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg for the First Four and Final Four games, and with Albert in other rounds. Kerr was also a regular contributor to the website Grantland from 2011 until it closed in 2015.

In 2023 he portrayed a cartoon version of himself on the animated series Clone High where he was the judge of a fictitious reality show called Tropical Hospital.

Executive career

Following his retirement as a player, Kerr became a minority owner of the Phoenix Suns as part of a group led by Robert Sarver that purchased the team in 2004. In June 2007, Phoenix named Kerr the team's president of basketball operations and general manager. Kerr announced he was leaving the position in June 2010. After stepping down from his post with the Suns, Kerr worked as a color commentator for NBA on TNT until 2014.

In May 2014, Kerr was named head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Under his leadership, the franchise entered the most successful period in its history, reaching the NBA Finals six times and winning four championships (in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022). The 2015–16 Warriors won an unprecedented 73 games, breaking the record for the most wins in an NBA season.

United States national team

Kerr was an assistant coach on the gold medal-winning 2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team. In December 2021, he was named head coach of the U.S. men's basketball team. In 2023, Kerr led the United States team to a disappointing fourth place finish at the FIBA World Cup and the U.S. failed to win a medal for the second consecutive tournament after an overtime loss to Canada in the bronze medal game, 127–118. Despite finishing fourth at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, it was the first U.S. men's basketball team to lose three games at the World Cup or Olympics since 2004.

Legacy

Kerr is the first head coach in NBA history to lead his team to 67 or more wins in three consecutive seasons. Kerr was named one of the Top 15 Coaches in NBA History in 2022, when the league commemorated its 75th anniversary.

Personal life

Kerr married Margot Brennan, his college sweetheart, in 1990. They have three children: Nick, Maddy, and Matthew. He is a keen soccer fan and an avid supporter of Liverpool F.C. In 2023, Kerr bought a minority stake in La Liga club RCD Mallorca.

Steve Kerr quotes

  • "Don't think shoot. Soon as you start thinking you miss."
  • "I think it's imperative to follow your heart and choose a profession you're passionate about, and if you haven't found that 'spark' yet, if you're not sure what you want to do with your lives - be persistent until you do."
  • "I do believe that one way to bring cultures together, to develop trust between people and countries and religions, is through education."

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1988–89 Phoenix 26 0 6.0 .435 .471 .667 .7 .9 .3 .0 2.1
1989–90 Cleveland 78 5 21.3 .444 .507* .863 1.3 3.2 .6 .1 6.7
1990–91 Cleveland 57 4 15.9 .444 .452 .849 .6 2.3 .5 .1 4.8
1991–92 Cleveland 48 20 17.6 .511 .432 .833 1.6 2.3 .6 .2 6.6
1992–93 Cleveland 5 0 8.2 .500 .000 1.000 1.4 2.2 .4 .0 2.4
1992–93 Orlando 47 0 9.4 .429 .250 .909 .8 1.3 .2 .0 2.6
1993–94 Chicago 82 0 24.8 .497 .419 .856 1.6 2.6 .9 .0 8.6
1994–95 Chicago 82* 0 22.4 .527 .524* .778 1.5 1.8 .5 .0 8.2
1995–96dagger Chicago 82 0 23.4 .506 .515 .929 1.3 2.3 .8 .0 8.4
1996–97dagger Chicago 82 0 22.7 .533 .464 .806 1.6 2.1 .8 .0 8.1
1997–98dagger Chicago 50 0 22.4 .454 .438 .918 1.5 1.9 .5 .1 7.5
1998–99dagger San Antonio 44 0 16.7 .391 .313 .886 1.0 1.1 .5 .1 4.4
1999–00 San Antonio 32 0 8.4 .432 .516 .818 .6 .4 .1 .0 2.8
2000–01 San Antonio 55 1 11.8 .421 .429 .933 .6 1.0 .3 .0 3.3
2001–02 Portland 65 0 11.9 .470 .394 .975 .9 1.0 .2 .0 4.1
2002–03dagger San Antonio 75 0 12.7 .430 .395 .882 .8 .9 .4 .0 4.0
Career 910 30 17.8 .479 .454double-dagger .864 1.2 1.8 .5 .1 6.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1990 Cleveland 5 0 14.6 .286 .000 — 1.2 2.0 .8 .0 1.6
1992 Cleveland 12 3 12.4 .439 .273 1.000 .5 .8 .4 .0 3.7
1994 Chicago 10 0 18.6 .361 .375 1.000 1.4 1.0 .7 .0 3.5
1995 Chicago 10 0 19.3 .475 .421 1.000 .6 1.5 .1 .0 5.1
1996dagger Chicago 18 0 19.8 .448 .321 .871 1.0 1.7 .8 .0 6.1
1997dagger Chicago 19 0 17.9 .429 .381 .929 .9 1.1 .9 .1 5.1
1998dagger Chicago 21 0 19.8 .434 .463 .818 .8 1.7 .3 .0 4.9
1999dagger San Antonio 11 0 8.8 .267 .231 .833 .8 .7 .2 .0 2.2
2001 San Antonio 9 0 11.2 .480 .333 .500 1.0 .7 .4 .1 3.3
2002 Portland 3 0 13.0 .429 .250 1.000 1.3 1.7 .3 .0 6.3
2003dagger San Antonio 10 0 4.6 .636 .833 .750 .3 .6 .1 .0 2.2
Career 128 3 15.6 .426 .370 .876 .9 1.2 .5 .0 4.3

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1983–84 Arizona 28 — 22.6 .516 — .692 1.2 1.3 0.3 0.0 7.1
1984–85 Arizona 31 — 33.4 .568 — .803 2.4 4.0 0.6 0.1 10.0
1985–86 Arizona 32 — 38.4 .540 — .899 3.2 4.2 1.6 0.0 14.4
1986–87 Arizona Redshirted—Did not play
1987–88 Arizona 38 — 32.6 .559 .573 .824 2.0 3.9 1.2 0.1 12.6
Career 129 — 32.1 .548 .573 .815 2.2 3.4 1.0 0.1 11.2

Head coaching record

NBA

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
double-dagger NBA record
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Golden State 2014–15 82 67 15 .817 1st in Pacific 21 16 5 .762 Won NBA Championship
Golden State 2015–16 82 73double-dagger 9 .890double-dagger 1st in Pacific 24 15 9 .625 Lost in NBA Finals
Golden State 2016–17 82 67 15 .817 1st in Pacific 17 16 1 .941double-dagger Won NBA Championship
Golden State 2017–18 82 58 24 .707 1st in Pacific 21 16 5 .762 Won NBA Championship
Golden State 2018–19 82 57 25 .695 1st in Pacific 22 14 8 .636 Lost in NBA Finals
Golden State 2019–20 65 15 50 .231 5th in Pacific — — — — Missed playoffs
Golden State 2020–21 72 39 33 .542 4th in Pacific — — — — Missed playoffs
Golden State 2021–22 82 53 29 .646 2nd in Pacific 22 16 6 .727 Won NBA Championship
Golden State 2022–23 82 44 38 .537 4th in Pacific 13 6 7 .462 Lost in Conference semifinals
Golden State 2023–24 82 46 36 .561 5th in Pacific — — — — Missed playoffs
Career 793 519 274 .654   140 99 41 .707  

International

Team Year G W L W–L% Tournament TG TW TL TW–L% Result
United States 2023 13 10 3 .769 World Cup 8 5 3 .625 4th place
United States 2024 0 0 0 .000 Olympics 0 0 0 .000 To be determined
Career 13 10 3 .769   8 5 3 .625  

Awards and honors

NBA

  • Nine-time NBA champion
    • Five as a player (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003)
    • Four as a head coach (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)
  • 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History selection
  • 2016 NBA Coach of the Year
  • Two-time NBA All-Star Game head coach
  • 1997 NBA Three-Point Contest winner

USA Basketball

  • 1986 FIBA World Championship (as a player)
  • 2020 Olympic Gold Medal winner (as an assistant coach)

NCAA

  • No. 25 retired by the Arizona Wildcats

Media

  • Three-time ESPY Award winner
    • 2015 Best Coach/Manager
    • 2017 and 2022 Outstanding Team (as coach of the Warriors)

Records

NBA

  • Career 3-point field goal percentage (.454)

Chicago Bulls

  • Single-season 3-point field goal percentage (.524, 1994–95)
  • Career 3-point field goal percentage (.479)

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Single-season 3-point field goal percentage (.507, 1989–90)
  • Career 3-point field goal percentage (.472)

NCAA

  • Single-season 3-point field goal percentage (57.3%, 1987–88, min 100 made)

Images for kids

  • Steve Kerr 2013

    Kerr in 2013

  • Steve Kerr (16453076458) cropped

    Kerr coaching the Warriors in 2015

  • Steve Kerr Talks to Reporters

    Kerr in 2017

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Steve Kerr para niños

  • List of NBA players with most championships
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