Since taking over as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2014, Steve Kerr has been extremely lucky.
He has not only gotten to coach an all-time great in Stephen Curry, but he has also had a tremendous supporting cast that has included Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and now Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Jonathan Kuminga.
Kerr’s Warriors have won four of the last eight NBA championships, and they could win at least one more in the next few years as Kuminga, James Wiseman, and Moses Moody come of age.
But it doesn’t mean their coach doesn’t ever dream.
During an exclusive interview with FilGoal, Kerr was asked to name one non-Warriors player he would like to coach, and he said Giannis Antetokounmpo.
@FilGoal Exclusive interview with The Legend Steve Kerr🎙️
Choose a current NBA player, apart from the Warriors, that you would like to coach. 🤔
Giannis (Antetokounmpo), I would love to coach Giannis, he’s a great player, but he seems also like a great person. pic.twitter.com/geHbnhPxLz
— FilGoal (@FilGoal) August 31, 2022
It won’t happen unless Kerr someday moves on to coach the Milwaukee Bucks, or whichever team Antetokounmpo is on at that point, but it’s a nice thought.
Antetokounmpo Is A Great Ambassador For The NBA
The Greek Freak has been arguably the best player in the game for the past couple of years, and he has plenty to show for it.
In the last four seasons, he has won two regular season MVP awards and a Defensive Player of the Year award, and just over a calendar year ago he led the Bucks to the world championship while winning his first Finals MVP award.
Last season, he averaged 29.9 points on 55.3 percent shooting, 11.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game, and although he lost the MVP balloting to the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, he is still considered by many to be the best in the world.
The Bucks lost in the second round of last season’s playoffs to the Boston Celtics when Khris Middleton was out with a knee injury, but they’re expected to be one of the front-running contenders for the championship.
What makes Antetokounmpo seem even better as a standard-bearer is that he’s a class act.
He doesn’t talk about himself much, he doesn’t promote himself, and he doesn’t act like he’s above people, as some superstar athletes do or are at least stereotyped as.
Giannis ordered a 50 PC nugget after scoring 50 in the Finals 💀 pic.twitter.com/HfASFT1hpN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 21, 2021
Two years ago, he had the opportunity to leave Milwaukee and form a superteam elsewhere, but he opted to stay, which impressed many observers.
As a native of Greece, Antetokounmpo is also part of a growing pool of foreign-born superstars, including Jokic and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, who is helping to spread the NBA and the game of basketball to every corner of the globe.
At age 27, much of Antetokounmpo’s best overall basketball may still be ahead of him.
Kerr and Antetokounmpo May Have A Chance To Get To Know Each Other Next Summer
With the Warriors looking even stronger on paper than they were last season, and the Bucks possessing a talented and motivated roster, the two teams may be on a collision course.
They could meet in the NBA Finals come June, and it could turn out to be a championship series for the ages.
Kerr would have to focus on destroying Antetokounmpo on the basketball court in that scenario, but perhaps he may reach out to him for a minute and exchange pleasantries at some point.
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