By Year 11 together, most coach-player relationships are built on respect. For Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry, it’s built on something more – a shared legacy that’s shaped the modern NBA. Since taking over in 2014, Kerr has led Golden State to four championships, six Finals appearances, and a style of play that’s influenced the entire league. Ask Kerr why it’s worked, and he doesn’t hesitate.
“If I didn’t have Steph,”Kerr said recently on The Glue Guys Podcast, “I would have been like every other NBA coach and lasted a few years and gone somewhere else. I’m incredibly lucky to have this partnership with Steph. He provides stability and continuity with the organization that makes everybody’s job easier.”
It’s not the first time Kerr’s given Curry the lion’s share of the credit, but the timing makes the compliment land differently. Golden State is chasing its fifth championship of the Kerr-Curry era next season, and the two just shared another career milestone: Olympic gold in Paris.
Olympic Stage, Same Old Steph
When Kerr took over for Gregg Popovich as head coach of Team USA, he didn’t just want Curry on the roster – he wanted him as the heartbeat. Even with a lineup stacked with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, and Jayson Tatum, Kerr says it was clear who the team turned to in crunch time.
“On a team with some of the all-time greats,”Kerr recalled, “they were all deferring to him.” He added with a grin, “I refer to him as Stephen Motherf**king Curry.”
The moment Kerr was talking about came late in the gold medal game against host France. The Americans were wobbling. Then Curry hit shot after shot from deep, pulling the U.S. back from the brink and sealing the gold. It wasn’t a surprise for Kerr – just another reminder of what he’s seen for more than a decade.
Kerr has been open about how different his career might have looked without Curry. Earlier this year, he told Willard & Dibs on 95.7 The Game that if he’d taken Phil Jackson’s offer to coach the New York Knicks in 2014, “I would’ve been fired in two weeks.” Instead, he joined Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green in what became one of the most dominant runs in sports.
Curry, now 36, is still putting up elite numbers – 26.4 points per game last season on 45% shooting and 40% from three – but for Kerr, the magic goes beyond stats. “It’s the leadership, the joy, the way he makes everyone better,” he said. “That’s what changes everything.”
The Warriors are entering another season with questions about roster depth and the Western Conference’s growing competition. But as long as Kerr and Curry are steering the ship together, there’s a sense in the Bay that anything is possible.
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