Steve Kerr is having his coaching talents tested this season with the Golden State Warriors.
Few coaches have had more instant success than Steve Kerr. In five seasons with the Golden State Warriors, Kerr has broken numerous records and won three championships.
Thus far, there has not been a single season in which Kerr failed to reach the NBA Finals in his coaching career. Kerr’s career kicked off to a red hot start, winning the title as a rookie head coach and coasting to back-to-back chips shortly after.
Kerr skyrocketed up the win column, becoming the fasted coach to reach 300 wins. His overall win percentage of 76.5% is the highest of any coach in NBA history and his record of 77-28 in the Playoffs stands alone as the best ever.
For his entire career, Kerr has been blessed with outstanding teammates and players. From his days in Chicago playing alongside Michael Jordan to his championship seasons with Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.
By the time he became a coach, he lucked into having three of the most prolific players of the decade on his roster. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green combined to make the perfect recipe for success.
Only one season after Curry’s unbelievable unanimous MVP season that helped Kerr notch the most wins in a regular-season ever, the Warriors re-upped by signing Kevin Durant in the 2016 offseason.
Many are quick to say that this abundance of talent made it easy for Kerr to succeed. While this is a valid point, there is no judging how difficult it was for Kerr to formulate a system that would keep all of these ball hungry players satisfied. Managing ego’s is no easy feat and Kerr did it to perfection.
Now, with all of his star power gone down the drain via free agency and injuries, Kerr is truly being tested.
Thus far, Kerr hasn’t looked very good. The Warriors have plummeted to a league-worst 3-13 record and are on pace for the biggest single-season drop in win percentage of all-time.
However, we must keep in mind that the Warriors roster has been hit with more injuries than we have ever seen before. It would have taken a miracle for this team to remain a powerhouse with the amount of bad luck they have been suffering from.
As a result, the verdict is still out on Kerr. The 2016 Coach of the Year has some time to prove himself worthy of being the all-time league leader in win percentage. Until his roster has a bit more consistency in terms of who is available to play, Kerr can’t be fully judged on his ability to coach a talentless team.