There have been many iconic dynasties over the rich 75-year history of the National Basketball Association: Bill Russell’s' Celtics, the Showtime Lakers, Jordan's Bulls, Duncan's Spurs, and the most recent dynasty – Curry's Warriors.
Many factors go into being a dynasty in the NBA, players making big-time plays, and having a head coach with the ability to lead a group to victory.
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Michael Jordan's Bulls had the Zen Master Phil Jackson, Tim Duncan's Spurs had Gregg Popovich, the Showtime Lakers had Pat Riley, and Steph Curry's Warriors have Steve Kerr.
From going to five straight NBA Finals, winning three NBA Championships during those appearances, to finishing with a 15-50 record in 2019-20 due to star players sidelined due to injury, the Warriors dynasty has been a true rollercoaster. The Warriors have joined the elite NBA company by punching their ticket to the NBA Finals this year and making it six times within the last eight years.
Many people contributed to the success of the Dubs Dynasty, but one person who deserves more credit than he gets is the man at the helm: Kerr.
There are many characteristics that head coaches need to have to be deemed successful in their respective fields. They need to be intelligent, savvy, compassionate, great communicators, relatable, and above all, they need to have faith and trust in their players and assistant coaches.
Head coaches need to be calm under pressure and handle criticism under a microscope of millions watching them every day through watching games on television, in person, or following them online through social media.
Despite technology and social media being prevalent worldwide, there are a lot of negative aspects to social media, cyberbullying, hate speech, and personal attacks on one's character, especially in the world of sports.
Kerr is the epitome of a head coach, getting scolded by critics when the Warriors lose and getting very little credit when they win. He deserves more recognition and respect than he does by fans and critics as the head man in charge of the Warriors.
When Warriors owner Joe Lacob hired Kerr in 2014, he brought a championship culture to the Warriors that they lacked in recent regimes.
From winning multiple championships as a player for the Bulls and Spurs, hitting game-winning and series-clinching shots in the NBA Finals to being the 15th man off the bench, a general manager of the Phoenix Suns, broadcaster for TNT, to winning multiple championships as a head coach with the Warriors, Kerr has seen it all in his illustrious basketball career.
Many fans and critics, especially on social media, who follow the NBA will say Kerr is regarded as one of the top 15 coaches of all-time in the NBA solely because he has coached star players like Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
Kerr would be the first to say that his success in his professional career as a coach, player, general manager, and broadcaster stems from his relationships within basketball.
Kerr recently joined 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” to talk about how he found success on the sideline with the Warriors.
"The biggest thing is all the personnel we have; we've got Steph and Klay, two of the greatest off-ball shooters on earth, ever,” Kerr said. “We've got Draymond Green, a natural point center, point forward, and we got a bunch of guys who know how to pass and play."
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Kerr will tell you firsthand that his success on the court and the sidelines has stemmed from his players, superstars, and role players alike, hitting big shots in big moments. But make no mistake, if you ask anyone with the Warriors about how they have had a meteoric rise in the last eight years, they will talk about having a motion-first offense.
Kerr chose an unusual path in today's NBA by infusing the motion offense, ball movement, and player movement in the era of a ball-dominant isolation offense. He credits the Warriors’ beautiful motion offense from his past experiences and relationships in basketball.
"The offense comes from the combination of influences in my career,” Kerr said. “A lot of triangle stuff from Phil Jackson, some San Antonio actions, side to side movement from Pop, when Alvin Gentry came here, he brought some of the actions that he and Mike D'Antoni ran in Phoenix. There's an influence there from all those people, but trying to tailor it to the modern game with all the 3-point shooting and high pick and roll."
Without Kerr bringing different aspects from the motion offense, he ran in his career in Chicago, Phoenix, and San Antonio, along with the learning from Lute Olson at the University of Arizona – the Dynastic Dubs are not a dynasty.
Kerr emphasized why the Warriors are one of the select few teams in basketball today to shy away from isolation offense in today's NBA.
"The reason it's rare in the NBA is that there is so much turnover, roster wise, coaching wise, our continuity is crucial to our style,” Kerr said. “It's mostly based on personal and the talent that we have, and we're incredibly blessed to have it throughout every single night."
From seeing fan favorites depart in free agency like Durant, to adding young players through the draft in Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman, the Warriors have had their share of organizational turnover.
The Warriors are not a dynasty without Kerr implementing his championship culture while putting star players in positions to succeed on and off the court, and that's why people need to give Kerr more respect as a head coach.
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