© Kelley L Cox | 2018 Nov 23
Steve Kerr has had a dream start to his first four-and-a-half seasons as an NBA head coach. Already with three NBA titles to his name, Kerr’s next win will be his 300th, making him the quickest to reach that mark of any coach in the four major American sports.
Both Kerr’s and the Warriors’ success is a far cry from how the organization was seen a decade ago. Kerr believes the change took place when majority owner Joe Lacob bought the team in 2010. Kerr likened the Warriors under Lacob to another Bay Area dynasty of the past: The San Francisco 49ers under the stewardship of Eddie DeBartolo.
“It all starts at the top,” Kerr told Murph & Mac on Friday. “You have to have great ownership. You think back, if you’re a Bay Area sports fan, you have to think back to the Niners with DeBartolo and the ownership group there and how the Niners became the franchise in the NFL. Everybody wanted to play for the Niners, well that’s what we have now.
A big part of that is living in the Bay Area and playing with our guys, but a big part of it is players around the league know how well the Warriors are taken care of, and how strong the ownership group is here. So to be part of all that is incredible, and we’re all just trying to do our part and keep the run going.”
Lacob is already ahead of DeBartolo when it comes to championships, needing just nine years to win three, with the 49ers not winning their third until 12 years into his tenure. The 49ers won five Super Bowls during Eddie D’s reign from 1977-2000.
Kerr also reflected on taking the Warriors job back in 2014.
“It seems like a no-brainer now, but at the time I don’t think any of us could have envisioned all of this,” Kerr said. “I knew the Warriors had a lot of things going for them and a lot of talent. So I knew it was an incredible opportunity, but nobody could’ve foreseen getting Kevin Durant two years later, and getting DeMarcus Cousins a couple years after that. So it’s just fun to be part of the progression and the transformation of this franchise, and it’s been going now for really ever since Joe (Lacob) and Peter (Guber) bought the team. That’s when this thing started.”
Listen to the full interview below.
