Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr insisted team consultant Steve Nash deserved a 2017 NBA Championship ring for his role in helping Golden State to its second title in three seasons.
Nash insisted he didn’t want to take part in the Warriors’ ring ceremony on Opening Night against Houston.
On Wednesday, Nash finally received his ring, and the ceremony was…not exactly similar to the one the rest of the Warriors experienced prior to their season-opening loss against Houston.
After a more personal ceremony, Nash posted an Instagram of him receiving his ring, and Kerr was featured shirtless in the photo. On Thursday afternoon, Kerr joined Tolbert & Lund and said that because Nash wanted an informal setting, the Warriors offered him one in their locker room after the team’s shootaround.
“I saw the ring and it was right there, and I said, ‘Hey let’s have our ring ceremony right here Steve,” Kerr said. “I don’t have a shirt on, we were joking and as he pointed out, we were right above a trash can.”
Tolbert questioned the Warriors’ fourth-year head coach about how a picture of Kerr ended up on social media, and Kerr joked that the photo was out of his control entirely.
“People post what they want to post, this is modern life,” Kerr said with a laugh. “Things happens and you have no control where things go from there. You don’t think I posted that do you?”
Kerr said Nash has played a pivotal role with the franchise, and because of that, he deserved to be rewarded for the time he’s put in as a consultant. Nash told The New York Times that the ring ceremony was “their moment,” but said that after an 18-year career as a player, it wouldn’t have felt right to take part in Golden State’s formal ceremony as a consultant.
Nevertheless, Kerr was determined to reward Nash, and on Wednesday, he received his due.
“We were laughing, Steve has really been important for us the last couple of years, he’s been a great mentor for a lot of these guys and a consultant for us and we got him a championship ring which he deserved,” Kerr said.
To listen to Kerr’s full interview with Tolbert & Lund, click the podcast link below. To listen to Kerr’s comments on Nash, start from the beginning of the podcast.