Draymond Green made some surprising comments recently about how Steve Kerr treats Stephen Curry, with the head coach harder on the Golden State Warriors superstar than many people may realize.
These comments were made in an ESPN article detailing the special relationship between Kerr and Curry. A point of emphasis is that Kerr has not been afraid to call the 2x MVP out over the course of their time together with the Warriors.
Draymond Green gets real on Steve Kerr's demand of Stephen Curry
"Most people think Steph can do what he wants. No. He's (Kerr) on Steph's [expletive] all the time. Defense, turnovers. He coaches Steph really, really, really hard. I don't think people realize that," Green said.
This may not be what people would expect from the dynamic between Kerr and Curry. If the Warriors are a family, then Kerr is the dad while Curry is the golden child and Draymond is the problem child. One would expect Kerr to go after Green pretty hard for all of his antics over the years, whether it is the arguments with refs, the infamous Jordan Poole incident, or some shots below the belt.
Draymond probably likes that Kerr holds Steph accountable because it means the focus is not always on him for all the extracurriculars we've seen throughout his career. It's also good that Kerr is not afraid to hold Curry accountable even at this stage of their respective careers.
It would be more than easy for a head coach to avoid criticizing Curry when he makes a mistake, particularly given he does so many things at such a high level that you can almost forgive him for the times that he makes mistakes.
But given the sort of competitor that Curry is, he of all people would certainly welcome the fact that Kerr holds him accountable and doesn't let him get away with things. At this point in his career where he has done it all and really has nothing left to prove, it is essential to have that force who will call you out so that hunger and competitive spirit stays alive.
The Kerr-Curry connection will go down with other great NBA coach-star connections like Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan or Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan. The magic happens when a great coach and great talent combine, and it's those sorts of connections that create dynasties which is exactly what Kerr and Curry have built together with the Warriors.