Steve Kerr is uniquely qualified to compare this Dubs Dynasty run to the great Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 1990s.
The Warriors have been an absolute juggernaut since he took over as coach in 2014, with foul titles and six NBA Finals appearances. Back in his heyday as a player, Kerr’s deadly spot-up shooting was featured on three of the six title-winning teams with Michael Jordan in Chicago.
The demise of the Bulls has since been crystallized by ESPN’s ‘The Last Dance’ documentary which first aired in 2020. Like the breakup of The Beatles, the in-house differences with the Bulls bubbled up over the years before finally cresting over the point of return.
During his weekly appearance on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs” Tuesday, Kerr said he’s not getting Last Dance vibes from the Warriors’ championship trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Host Mark Willard asked Kerr if he’s considered that Wednesday’s contest could be the final time the three players suit up together, as the Lakers hold a 3-1 series lead in the second round playoff matchup.
“No. That’s never crossed my mind,” Kerr said. “I’ve played on those Bulls teams, The Last Dance. I can tell you from experience. Even though everybody now says, ‘Why didn’t they keep that team together?’ That team was done. That team was finished mentally, emotionally, there was nothing left in the tank.
“I don’t feel that way about this team at all. I think Steph, Klay and Draymond, they’ve got lots to give for years to come. I never even have stopped to give that a second thought.”
Draymond is obviously a central figure to the dynasty. He holds a $27.6 million player option for next season, which he could turn down in an effort to find a multiyear deal elsewhere. But Green and the Warriors have a marriage that can’t be duplicated, considering his chemistry with Steph, Klay, Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole (on-court chemistry, at least).
The other big piece of the puzzle is president/general manager Bob Myers, whose contract is set to expire this offseason. Myers’ fingerprints are all over the dynasty run, as he drafted Draymond and Harrison Barnes in 2012, helped lure Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant, acquired Andrew Wiggins, and served as a key interpersonal facilitator and trusted confidant.
Unless Kerr has recently negotiated a contract extension, he is about to enter the final year of his deal in 2023-24, but you have to figure he has carte blanche at this point from Warriors ownership to guide this dynasty to its end.
But Kerr isn’t concerned about the big-picture framing of Wednesday’s game. Steph shared a similar sentiment during his postgame comments on Monday. They’re just trying to get to Game 6.
“Having been in this for a decade now, our guys get it,” Kerr said. “One game changes everything. We’ve done this before. We’ve come back 3-1 down against in OKC (in the 2016 Western Conference Finals), we won in Toronto (in the 2019 NBA Finals) to force a Game 6. To this day, I think all our guys will tell you, we woulda forced a Game 7 if Klay hadn’t suffered the torn ACL. I think our guys cherish this opportunity.”
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