Why Steve Kerr Stayed With the Warriors

Terrific, poignant profile of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr by Wright Thompson for ESPN:

Kerr doesn’t want the Warriors to end up like the New England Patriots, marred by grudges and grievances. He watched Michael Jordan retire, then unretire, then retire, then unretire. His friends used to grill him about MJ.

“Why doesn’t he go out on top?”

“Because he can’t,” Kerr told them.

For the past few years, Kerr has watched his mentor, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, struggle through this same decision. Pop once called Steve to tell him he’d finally decided to retire. Steve congratulated him on a Hall of Fame career. A week later Pop signed an extension with San Antonio. Popovich finally officially quit six weeks before our lunch, six months after a stroke diminished him physically. People who loved him had to show him the door, as gently as possible. That hurt Steve. He respects Popovich so much. He loved playing for him and coaching with him. He once told Gregg he was the finest man he’d ever known and thanked him for all he’d done for him. Pop smiled and said his feet were made of clay like everyone else’s. Steve didn’t believe it then. Now he does.

“I realized he couldn’t do it,” Kerr said. “He couldn’t walk away.”

I asked how he’d avoided the trap. He laughed.

“I’m sitting here wondering,” he said.

It sounds so easy to go out on top. But it very seldom happens.

★ Sunday, 24 May 2026