"Losses to the Chicago Bulls with Cleveland in 1992. Joins Chicago and wins three in a row. Wins twice more as a player. Wins as a coach his first year with Golden State. Trumps his 1995/96 Chicago team with 73 wins in 2015/16."
That would be Steve Kerr.
After joining the Cleveland Cavaliers 1989/90, the Chicago Bulls stood in Kerr's quest for an NBA Championship. They'd lost to them in 1989. But with Kerr there, Cleveland went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1991/92. There, stood Michael Jordan and company. Steve and company gave 'em all they could handle.
Kerr, you see, had eliminated the Boston Celtics in a grueling, seven-game quarterfinal series, and were up for the challenge of His Airness. The Bulls, wanting to show these underdogs the true meaning of fear, flattened 'em 103-89 at home to get this thing going. Kerr didn't do much in his twelve minutes of play.
The Cavs though, woke up and made the Bulls work. They won games two and four, and pushed the Bulls to tough, six-game duel. Chicago won game six, but only by five points. There must have been some disappointment in Kerr. He didn't get to contribute and his team fell just two games short of a trip to the finals. That would have to wait for the Cleveland fans until LeBron arrived years later.
But it was actually Chicago that saw something in Kerr that others didn't. You see, by 1993/94 Kerr was on that team. And he did a lot more than sit around and do nothing. Steve came off the bench to average 8.6, 8.2, 8.4, and 8.1 PPG the next four seasons. On Chicago in 1995/96, he made sure that when Jordan was sitting, he was hitting. As in hitting threes. He hit one in the last four games of that year's NBA Finals vs. Seattle. His contributions may not have quite matched what they were in the regular season, but Chicago made sure to use him. They'd won 72 games in the regular season, you see.
The Bulls won two more times, but Kerr was on San Antonio in 1999. Kerr found a way to get another ring. He averaged only 2.2 PPG in the playoffs, but the Spurs won. Four years later, Kerr again was only good for 2.2 PPG in the postseason. San Antonio won again. Kerr retired in August of that year. But he had five rings.
And all Kerr did was get another last season with the Warriors. Guiding them to 67 wins, Golden State was looking for there first World Championship since the days of Rick Barry. Ironically, in the finals was Kerr's old team, Cleveland. And they had a chap named James.
Golden State won game one. But Lebron have every intentions of doing what they didn't do in '92. Or back in '07 when LeBron led them to the NBA Finals. Only to lose to another of Steve's old teams. The San Antonio Spurs. Kerr had been all over the place in his NBA career, you see?
Cleveland won games two and three to make Golden State think twice about an easy time. Cleveland had been swept in 2007, but not this time. However, Steve made sure the offence got going before it started sputtering too much. The Warriors scored 103, 104 and 105 points. Steven Curry had a lot to do with that, of course.
Steve was back for more another go-around in 2015/16. And the Warriors won, won, won. They eclipsed the 1995/96 Chicago Bulls for most wins in one season. And when the playoffs got underway the other day, Steve looks primed for another ring. He's got six so far. As many as MJ!
References
Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com - Basketball Statistics and History. http://www.basketball-reference.com/. 18 Apr. 2016.
That would be Steve Kerr.
After joining the Cleveland Cavaliers 1989/90, the Chicago Bulls stood in Kerr's quest for an NBA Championship. They'd lost to them in 1989. But with Kerr there, Cleveland went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1991/92. There, stood Michael Jordan and company. Steve and company gave 'em all they could handle.
Kerr, you see, had eliminated the Boston Celtics in a grueling, seven-game quarterfinal series, and were up for the challenge of His Airness. The Bulls, wanting to show these underdogs the true meaning of fear, flattened 'em 103-89 at home to get this thing going. Kerr didn't do much in his twelve minutes of play.
The Cavs though, woke up and made the Bulls work. They won games two and four, and pushed the Bulls to tough, six-game duel. Chicago won game six, but only by five points. There must have been some disappointment in Kerr. He didn't get to contribute and his team fell just two games short of a trip to the finals. That would have to wait for the Cleveland fans until LeBron arrived years later.
But it was actually Chicago that saw something in Kerr that others didn't. You see, by 1993/94 Kerr was on that team. And he did a lot more than sit around and do nothing. Steve came off the bench to average 8.6, 8.2, 8.4, and 8.1 PPG the next four seasons. On Chicago in 1995/96, he made sure that when Jordan was sitting, he was hitting. As in hitting threes. He hit one in the last four games of that year's NBA Finals vs. Seattle. His contributions may not have quite matched what they were in the regular season, but Chicago made sure to use him. They'd won 72 games in the regular season, you see.
The Bulls won two more times, but Kerr was on San Antonio in 1999. Kerr found a way to get another ring. He averaged only 2.2 PPG in the playoffs, but the Spurs won. Four years later, Kerr again was only good for 2.2 PPG in the postseason. San Antonio won again. Kerr retired in August of that year. But he had five rings.
And all Kerr did was get another last season with the Warriors. Guiding them to 67 wins, Golden State was looking for there first World Championship since the days of Rick Barry. Ironically, in the finals was Kerr's old team, Cleveland. And they had a chap named James.
Golden State won game one. But Lebron have every intentions of doing what they didn't do in '92. Or back in '07 when LeBron led them to the NBA Finals. Only to lose to another of Steve's old teams. The San Antonio Spurs. Kerr had been all over the place in his NBA career, you see?
Cleveland won games two and three to make Golden State think twice about an easy time. Cleveland had been swept in 2007, but not this time. However, Steve made sure the offence got going before it started sputtering too much. The Warriors scored 103, 104 and 105 points. Steven Curry had a lot to do with that, of course.
Steve was back for more another go-around in 2015/16. And the Warriors won, won, won. They eclipsed the 1995/96 Chicago Bulls for most wins in one season. And when the playoffs got underway the other day, Steve looks primed for another ring. He's got six so far. As many as MJ!
References
Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com - Basketball Statistics and History. http://www.basketball-reference.com/. 18 Apr. 2016.
