Steve Kerr played alongside Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, but his spotlight came when he decided to try coaching.
Although Kerr holds the record for the most consecutive wins as a player without playing for the Boston Celtics, that’s because he played for several different teams during his 15-year career as a player.
Having learned something from every team, Kerr has a unique ability to use all that information to coach his current team, the Golden State Warriors, to victory.
From his success, you may wonder how many victories turned into NBA championship rings for him.
Here’s what you need to know about Kerr’s rings and the stories behind them.
How Many Rings Does Steve Kerr Have?
Steve Kerr has nine NBA championship rings in total.
Five of those rings came from his time as a player in the NBA.
Kerr was part of the Chicago Bulls for several years.
He played alongside Michael Jordan and helped the team win championships.
He won three rings while he played with the Bulls.
Those championships were won in the years:
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
He’d go on to join the San Antonio Spurs after the Bulls.
In so doing, he won another NBA championship that year with them.
Since he left the Bulls in 1998 and joined the Spurs in the 1999 season, then won, he technically won four rings consecutively.
No other player except those in the Boston Celtics has been able to do this.
Kerr’s final ring came later.
He briefly left the Spurs to play for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Kerr rejoined the Spurs a year later.
In 2003, he helped the Spurs overcome the Mavericks and won his fifth ring.
After that, he retired and served in various administrative roles in the NBA.
In 2014, Kerr became the head coach for the Golden State Warriors.
Under his coaching, the team quickly improved.
The Golden State Warriors would win the NBA championship in the following years:
- 2022
- 2015
- 2017
- 2018
That added four more rings to his total count.
As a result, Steve Kerr has eight rings in his entire NBA career.
Does Steve Kerr Have The Most NBA Championship Rings?
No, Steve Kerr does not have the most NBA championship rings.
When looking at his career as a player, he comes close to making the top 10 list.
Bill Russell sits at the top with 11 NBA championship rings.
Steve Kerr is below players who have earned six rings like Michael Jordan.
As a coach, he also doesn’t have the most NBA rings.
That distinction belongs to Phil Jackson who has 11 rings as a coach.
Steve Kerr ranks in 6th place for the coach with the most NBA rings.
Many of the coaches ahead of him are tied at five rings, so he’s well on his way to joining their ranks.
Can Steve Kerr Earn More Rings?
As a player, he’s retired, so he won’t be earning anymore rings from that part of his life.
As a coach, there’s a great chance that he could add to his NBA championship ring count.
The Golden State Warriors continue to be a competitive force on the court.
Their star player, Steph Curry, also recently signed a contract extending his playing time with the Warriors.
Considering Kerr’s excellence in his coaching thus far, there’s no reason he can’t lead the team to a few more victories in his career.
He’s also quite young among the other coaches.
He has several years in him still to go for the ring.
What Do Steve Kerr’s NBA Championship Rings Look Like?
Kerr’s career spans both playing on the court and coaching on the court.
As such, his rings look slightly different from each other.
He also played and won with several different franchises.
As such, his collection of rings is unique.
Here’s what each ring looks like and how he came to earn them.
1. The 1996 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Ring
Steve Kerr initially joined the Bulls during a time when Michael Jordan had just left the team.
They were up against the Orlando Magic and lost that year’s championship to them.
In 1996, Michael Jordan returned.
The team also added a few other key members to complete their ensemble.
Many consider the 1996 Bulls as a dream team.
Steve Kerr played an important role in the championship, too.
Leading up to the championship, the Bulls had a record of 72 wins.
They went up against the Magic again for revenge and soundly defeated them.
The Bulls would go on to win several games against the Seattle Supersonics in the final series.
Seattle would attempt to rally and focus their defense on Jordan, but with Kerr and the others supporting the team, the Sonics ultimately lost the championship 4-2.
It was Kerr’s first championship win and the start of a three-peat victory series for the Chicago Bulls.
The ring made for the 1996 win used four trophies on its face to symbolize the four recent wins of the team.
Kerr wasn’t around for the initial three-peat series of wins, but he was coming in for the second round.
On the side of the ring are Kerr’s name and jersey number.
It also includes the red face of a bull as a nod towards the Bull’s logo and mascot.
The other side of the ring states, “World Champions” and also has the NBA logo on it.
The logo sits in front of the skyline of Chicago.
To further demonstrate the team’s incredible year, the ring states “72 Wins” on it.
This is a nod towards the record-setting number of wins the team earned during their regular season.
The words “Greatest Team Ever,” are also written on the bottom of the ring.
While Michael Jordan may have been the star, they were champions because of the assistance and shooting skills of team members like Kerr and Dennis Rodman.
2. The 1999 San Antonio Spurs NBA Championship Ring
After joining the Spurs in 1999, Kerr found himself playing in a unique time.
The NBA, at the time, was experiencing a lockout due to a labor dispute.
As a result, the season was shortened.
Many teams that used to play against each other didn’t get the opportunity to do so.
All the same, they held the finals and the San Antonio Spurs found themselves in the playoffs.
Before then, the Spurs had a decent regular season, but they were under a new coach, and the team’s star player, David Robinson, had only recently returned from injury.
Despite these challenges, the Spurs found themselves up against the New York Knicks in the final series.
In the end, the Spurs would trounce the Knicks with a game final of 4-1.
It was the first time the Spurs won the NBA championship.
It was also Kerr’s fourth win in a row.
The ring for their win was extra special.
On its face is the Spurs’ logo made entirely out of diamonds.
It sits on a black enamel background that allows the diamonds to shine and glitter.
The spur is also surrounded by a ring of diamonds.
The side of the ring has Kerr’s name on it and his jersey number.
It also features the NBA logo.
On this side of the ring is the post-season record of 15-2.
It also gives the year of the NBA season.
The other side of the ring features the words, “World Champions.”
Below them is the NBA trophy.
There’s also an image of a spur wielding a hammer and cracking a rock.
Inside of the spur is a small diamond.
3. The 2003 San Antonio Spurs NBA Championship Ring
A lot was riding on the 2003 NBA championship for the Spurs.
Both Robinson and Kerr had announced that they were retiring from the team at the end of the season.
They wanted to leave the team on a high note.
The regular season showed promise for the playoffs.
They tied for the league’s best record of that year with 60-22.
Going into the playoffs, the Spurs had a few shaky moments.
In particular, they were up against the Los Angeles Lakers who had some of the best stars in the time.
It was a series in which both teams won a game right after the other.
In the end, the Spurs managed to pull ahead of the Lakers and continued in the playoffs.
Their next challenge was the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks are often considered the nemesis of the Spurs because they both represent the state of Texas.
Both had something to prove in the playoffs.
Kerr played an integral role in game six during the fourth quarter.
They were down by 16 points, but Kerr managed to shoot four three-pointers in a row to get them back on top.
They managed to defeat the Mavericks and moved onto the final showdown against the New Jersey Nets.
The fight to win the championship was difficult.
Both teams traded wins with one another.
It came down to game six.
The Spurs had won the game previously and the Nets needed to win game six to stay alive.
Ultimately, however, the Spurs would overcome the Nets with a total score of 88-77.
Their NBA finals score would be four games to two.
This would mark the second championship win for the San Antonio Spurs and the end of Kerr’s playing career.
Their second ring features the Spurs’ logo on the face of the ring.
Diamonds fill the spur.
They also make up the background.
Dozens of diamonds layer the background of the ring.
They also line each side of the ring.
On the top and bottom of the ring are the words, “World Champions.”
On one side of the ring is the year in which they won the championship.
Below that is the name of the team.
This side also features two championship trophies to symbolize their two franchise wins.
The other side of the ring features Kerr’s name and jersey number.
It has the NBA logo and the season’s record of 60-22.
This would be Kerr’s last ring as a player until he took up coaching for the Golden State Warriors.
4. The 2015 Golden State Warriors NBA Championship Ring
Kerr had a lot to prove as the new head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
He immediately started to revamp their offense.
He brought together elements of the triangle offense that Phil Jackson had taught him when he played with the Bulls.
He also implemented the lessons about spacing and pace which he had learned from Gregg Popovich during his time with the Spurs.
Finally, he relied on his experience as the GM of the Phoenix Suns to use up-tempo principles to keep his team in the game.
The result was a team that set the record for the league.
They had a record of 67-15 and an even more impressive home record of 39-2.
Because of that, Kerr became the rookie coach with the most wins under his belt in a single year.
They entered the playoffs just as strong and found themselves up against the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James.
The first two games featured stunning overtime periods.
The Golden State Warriors would win game one in overtime, but the Cavaliers would take home the second game, also in overtime.
The Cavs would also win game three, increasing their chances of winning the NBA championship.
However, the Warriors rallied and ended up winning games four, five, and six.
It was the first time the Warriors had won a championship since 1975.
Due to their incredible performance and their first win in a long time, the franchise spent a lot of money on their championship rings.
The face of the ring has diamonds layered over it.
They form the Bay Bridge that’s part of the Warrior’s logo.
The ring also uses sapphires and gold to highlight certain areas of the bridge.
Even the inside of the ring has a design.
It features the same shape and design as the Oracle Arena in which they played the finals.
On one side of the ring is the year in which they won the championship.
Also within the year is the number of every player’s jersey that was on the roster.
The team’s name is below that with the NBA logo underneath.
Kerr’s name is on the side of the ring.
Instead of a player number, his ring reads, “Coach.”
The other side of the ring features the words, “World Champions,” and also depicts a picture of the championship trophy.
Touching the trophy is a series of hands.
This is a nod to the picture of the team all touching the trophy.
5. The 2018 Golden State Warriors NBA Championship Ring
Although they had won in 2017, the Warriors were looking to get a back-to-back win.
They had been unable to do so following their 2015 win.
They found themselves up against the Cleveland Cavaliers once more.
The Warriors felt good about their chances.
They had come out of the regular season with the highest record among the teams at 58-24.
They had also ensured that their star players, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, remained a part of the team.
They completely swept the finals.
A sweep hadn’t occurred since 2007.
The Golden State Warriors won every game.
It only took four games for them to win the championship.
They’d won back-to-back championships.
This NBA finals also featured the last time that LeBron James would play for the Cavaliers.
He’d move on to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Since the Warriors had back-to-back wins, the ring had extra details used in its design.
One of the most unique aspects is the fact that it’s reversible.
The ring has two faces.
One features a side primarily made up of diamonds while the other side features primarily sapphires.
Both feature the Bay Bridge of the Warriors’ logo.
Removing the top of the ring shows a recessed portion of the ring with the words, “Strength in Numbers.”
It was the team’s mantra for the season.
On one side of the ring are Kerr’s name and his title as a coach.
It also features the Bay Bridge and “Just Us” motto.
The other side of the ring has the words, “Back 2 Back” and the regular-season record.
6. The 2022 Golden State Warriors NBA Championship Ring
**To be updated**
Conclusion
Kerr has won several rings both as a player and as a coach.
As a young coach with a successful career, he’ll likely earn more with the Golden State Warriors as the years continue.
Great explanation.