Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr recetnly joined TNT’s Ernie Johnson on the NBA’s live chat #NBATogether. In the interview, Kerr answered a wide range of questions from what prepared him to coach the Golden State Warriors, what he has spent his time and attention on during the shelter-in-place order, the advice he received that led to him coaching the Warriors, and more.
Take a look at some quotes from the 45-minute long interview below:
On Michael Jordan’s reputation for confronting teammates during practices?
“He went after all of us… It wasn’t always fun, for sure. But you kind of understood as it was happening this is serious stuff. This is the greatest player on Earth, and if you want to be able to compete with him, you got to stand up to him in practice, and that was part of the deal.”
On his identity as a head coach?
“I’m definitely authentic to what I believe in, which is that there should be a joy to the game. It’s one of the things I felt strongly about when I first coached the Warriors. I wanted to be fiercely competitive, but in doing so I wanted the players to feel a sense of joy when they walked into the building every day.”
On whether being a television analyst helped developed his coaching skills?
“I think there was a lot that came from the TV job. Part of the job which I really enjoyed was the sit down with the two coaches before the game… Sitting down at the time with Erik Spoelstra, Rick Carlisle, these guys who were just so accommodating and helpful. They were just giving information to help with our broadcast, but I was learning a ton from them, from all of the coaches in terms of what it’s like to coach in the league and what they’re looking for. So I think being in TV really helped me prepare for the coaching job.”