Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been one of the NBA’s most successful in the 2010s.
Since joining the franchise in 2014, he has overseen the development of one of the best dynasties in the sport’s history.
Five years ago today, the squad received their first championship ring in 40 years 💍 pic.twitter.com/meoEFpoWSx
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) October 27, 2020
He inherited a team on the rise.
During the 2013-14 season, the Warriors went 51-31 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The year before that, they lost in the conference semifinals.
However, they struggled to get over the final hump.
With a superbly talented roster and proven success, some have called Kerr’s coaching talent into question.
After the team struggled in 2019, an even bigger spotlight was shifted onto the sixth-year coach.
Is Kerr actually overrated?
No he isn’t, and here are three reasons why:
1. Kerr Is Proven
Kerr inherited a Warriors team that was on the rise.
However, they were unable to take that next step as a franchise under then head coach Mark Jackson.
When Kerr arrived, the team took a massive leap forward.
In his first season there, they went 67-15 on their way to an NBA title.
While injuries, suspension and an invincible LeBron James derailed the team’s championship hopes in 2015-16, they quickly bounced back.
Here, they rattled off two more championship runs.
Finally, the dynasty as fans knew it at the time ended in 2018-19 when the Warriors lost to the Raptors.
Results are hard to argue with.
My dive into why Steve Kerr has been so successful and everything he’s had to overcome.https://t.co/F8bhduuj2K
— Melissa Rohlin (@melissarohlin) December 22, 2020
Five NBA Finals appearances and three championships in five years speaks loudly and is very persuasive.
2. He Gets The Best Out Of His Players
It can be easy to say that Kerr was carried by his All-Star roster.
However, a lot of the players thrived under Kerr’s tutelage.
He crafted a new style of offense that took advantage of the Warriors’ strengths.
They embraced the three-point shot, looking for it each and every game.
Instead of opting for a more traditional style of basketball, Kerr turned to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for offensive production.
Each of their three-point attempts per game went up even more, reflecting a change the entire team made.
While they already had a lot of three-point attempts per game, the team took another step forward.
They upped their 3PT shot attempts from 24.8 to 27.0 in their first season under Kerr.
This was a major reason the team took the final step to becoming a championship organization.
He is also a very likable person for everyone in the organization.
“Something he’s really good at is feel,” Kerr’s former player Shaun Livingston said. “As a player, GM, coach, all those different things, just relationships. That’s where it starts. That what coaching is about.”
Kerr embraced this philosophy as a coach, and it paid off.
2018 Championship Parade || #WarriorsArchive pic.twitter.com/5R2ULFTSE4
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 5, 2020
3. The Most Important Season Is Ahead
Because of his track record so far as a coach, Kerr deserves to be ranked as one of the NBA’s best.
We haven’t been shown anything to suggest otherwise.
Now, this season will be a true test for Kerr.
Lock in! #DubNation
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) December 22, 2020
Much of the roster has been shaken up and some of the team’s past is gone.
With Klay Thompson’s season-ending injury, another challenge has been tossed Kerr’s way.
He will have to find ways to incorporate players such as Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr., neither of whom are amazing three-point shooters, into their offense.
It will become a new challenge for a coach that has already proven himself.
If he can succeed in this season, with this adversity, he will be able to etch his name as one of the greatest coaches ever.
However, if the team fails to perform well, then it will become time to question whether Kerr is overrated.
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