Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has drawn the ire of fans at times this season, with many questioning his lineups or decisions to bench or play certain players late in games.
Such is the life of an NBA coach. If the team loses, you are always going to be under fire. But Kerr's fiercest critics may be surprised to know that he was voted the most admired leader in sports.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr receives unlikely honor
The Athletic polled 100 people in sports and Kerr was deemed the "most admired" among the respondents. Not far behind him was star Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
For fans who follow the Warriors religiously and analyze and agonize over every single mistake Kerr makes, it's easy to be so lost in that day-to-day grind that you lose sight of just how well-regarded he is by his peers and across the sports world.
His success is undeniable. Both as a player and as a coach, he is a winner. Of course, a big part of that has to do with being lucky enough to be teammates with Michael Jordan and then being lucky enough to coach Stephen Curry.
But two things can be true at once: Kerr is a great basketball coach and leader, and he's also been incredibly lucky to be in the right place at the right time for two separate dynasties.
Clearly, people across the world of sports have a ton of respect for him. Nick Sirianni, the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, recently spoke about how he takes inspiration from Kerr's emphasis on joy even though the two have never spoken to each other.
Sirianni probably wasn't feeling too joyous when the San Francisco 49ers eliminated the Eagles from the playoffs, but the point holds that Kerr is an inspiration to others.
While it's frustrating at times to watch the Warriors as they are now a "fading dynasty" as Kerr has dubbed them, even if the team does not win another title, the dynasty created will be studied and celebrated for a long time.
It's rare in sport for a team to achieve that level of dominance for such a long stretch of time, but Kerr deserves a lot of credit for helping the Warriors manage all of the storms and adversity they've had to face.
Remember, the Warriors had a fall from grace after losing Kevin Durant and then losing key players to injury, leaving them as the worst team in the NBA during the "bubble" season. Kerr was able to help lead them back to the Finals just two years later, defeating the Boston Celtics to cement the dynasty.
Fans would do well to remember how good of a coach Kerr is because he is not going to last forever, and the fans bashing him today may very well miss him tomorrow.