Steve Kerr was ready to step away from the Golden State Warriors after the 2025-26 season, a bombshell that would have completely rocked the NBA landscape. Imagine that! The man who coached Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to four championships was just about done. But hold up, because that didn’t happen: Kerr inked a two-year contract extension with the Warriors during the playoffs, keeping him firmly on the sidelines.
From Dynasty Coach to Almost Out the Door
Kerr’s legacy in the NBA is massive, stretching back to his playing days and even his time as an executive, but everyone knows him as the mastermind behind one of the best teams ever. We’re talking about the 2017 and 2018 Warriors squads, arguably the best in BNA history, loaded with Curry, Green, and Thompson, and then Kevin Durant joined the party. Kerr led that crew, and he’s one of the longest-tenured coaches in the league right now, second only to Erik Spoelstra. He’s a winner, pure and simple, and he helped mold that core trio into perennial winners.
The Meetings That Kept Him Here
But even a legend like Kerr has had his struggles. Since that 2022 championship, the Warriors haven’t exactly been the biggest threat in the Western Conference. And that rough stretch had Kerr thinking about making a move. “I had decided I was leaving with a week or two left in the regular season. I just thought that it was time, I could feel it. I didn’t say anything to anybody, it just felt like it,” Kerr spilled on the Tom Tolbert Show. “When the season ended, we all felt like we owed it to ourselves to give it a couple of weeks and let the emotions die down.” Good call. Because over those next couple of weeks, he met three times with Joe and Kirk Lacob and Mike Dunleavy. Those conversations changed everything, leading to a “really good conclusion that we should keep it going.” He felt it was time, but those meetings, those talks, truly convinced him to stay and lead the project.
Now, Kerr is fired up for the 2026-27 season. Even though the Warriors aren’t listed as one of the favorites, don’t sleep on them. With Kerr still at the helm, you can bet they’ll make some noise. It’s going to be a fascinating season to watch what this renewed commitment means for Golden State, especially after being so close to losing their championship coach.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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