Part 2. Steve Kerr on life balance, bench players, Mike Dunleavy Jr and Bob Myers and Gregg Popovich
You’re not the guy that sits on the floor
Table of Contents
Transcripts of selected exchanges
Part 1 of these transcripts : Steve Kerr on Steph Curry, Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson and strategically throwing psycho tantrums
Work-life balance and “the journey is the reward”
Alex Smith
One of my actually things that sticks with me the most from those Olympics, I think, is after the finals and it's you with all the coaches having a beer. … Like, a ton of pressure on you guys and you achieve this amazing thing, and yet it's this quiet personal moment, right, together. And again, they are fleeting, right? Because so often it is on to the next.
Steve Kerr
It's so awesome. But It reminded me of a great moment we had with Roger Federer. We played in China, I think it was 2018, maybe, or 17. He was in town in Shanghai to play in the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament. And we connected with him somehow, and I invited him to come to our locker room. And he came and he talked to all the guys and Draymond asked him in front of the whole group, he said, How do you sustain excellence? You know, you've been doing this for 20 years, and at that time, you know, he's still winning majors, right? And I think everybody was expecting an answer, like, well, you know, I work so hard and I do this and I do that.
But his answer was very Scottie Scheffler-like. He said, you know. I love my life. He goes, I wake up every morning, I cook breakfast for my kids, then I take them to school, and then I drop them off, and then I go practice tennis for like two hours, and I've got a great routine now that I've figured out where I can get all my work in in a really joyful way without killing my body, but you know, keeps me in great shape, ready for the next tournament. Then I go home and I love to cook, so I cook my kids a dinner. And then, you know, we hang around a little bit, and everybody goes to bed, and I put my head on the pillow, and I go, That was a great day. He goes, so I've been doing that for 20 years, and that works for me.
And it was like, yes, yes, that's it, right there. Like, he's figured it out. And I think a lot of people who have amazing success never actually have that realization because they're continuing to push forward and grind. And so it's that work-life balance and recognizing what's really important and finding joy and ease in your life with your family. That's what it's all about.
Alex Smith
Yeah. I don't think it's ironic that he won that week.
Steve Kerr
Right.
Alex Smith
I think for everybody out there, it's like, huh, maybe he's onto something. Yeah.
Steve Kerr
Yeah, I mean, and and Scheffler, like that's that was the point to me, you know, it's like yeah, like he's figured it out and good for him. And and uh that there's there's something very liberating about that too, you know, like you can lose and You know, you're going to put your head on the pillow and still have a good night because of your family and you're doing the thing you enjoy. It's pretty cool.
Ravi Gupta
You realize that the journey is more than just the destination, right? Like there is, you kind of have to look back and say. Have we had a good journey and enjoy it along the way? Is that something? When did that feeling kind of Show up for you? When did you realize that it's not just about the result at the end, but it is more about the work that you're doing along the way?
Steve Kerr
Well, it definitely helped that I was on the Bulls and won three championships. Man, the journey and the and the destination were really fun.
Ravi Gupta
Nine rings later. Maybe it's easy to be reflective.
Steve Kerr
Right, right. But no, it was this was a Phil Jackson Quote that he used frequently: the journey is the reward. And it's true. It's a Buddhist saying, and he really believed in it. And, you know, when he When he would tell us that, you know, read, you know, read from a book or something to that effect, it just made so much sense. So, Phil was really the guy, the first coach I had, who ever really kind of phrased it that way.
…
Shane Battier
How do you get that message in coach? How do you get that message to non-believers? You laugh that you won three championships, and so that message is much more palatable. And of course, yeah, you guys won. But so many people, some of the feedback we get is like, yeah, but like, my situation is different. So, how do you get the non-believer of that statement to buy in? Who haven't won? Haven't tasted the champagne, who who, you know, we can all stand at the mountaintop now and say, Yeah, of course, it was about the improvement, it was about the losses, but like we look almost like elitists because we've made our dream. So, what's your advice to the person that hasn't experienced that yet? To believe that?
Steve Kerr
You know, as it relates to my players, you know, we try to make a great connection and bond. you know, between the players, and we bring the families, you know, aboard all the time. I think it comes with perspective. You know, I think if you can can help people with perspective And teach them to really appreciate each day, then I think it's easier.
But I also think it comes from parenting. It comes from our upbringing. And what was your childhood like? As a coach, as someone advising people, I can talk about perspective. I can talk about. How lucky we are to be in the NBA and play in the NBA regardless of what happens. We could be children in Gaza who are starving. We could be soldiers in the Ukraine who are dying every day. I mean, it's like you, when you think about how lucky we are in this country, despite our flaws, we have a great country and filled with opportunity.
So I think that would be my answer: can you offer perspective and remind people just how it's really the simple things that are gratifying, family and work and finding joy in everything that you do.
The importance of glue guys and deep bench players
Alex Smith
You ended up playing 15 years in the NBA, right? Like, you and from my understanding you actually didn't start that many games like through your career. And so you had all these different roles, whether you were the first guy off the bench, like or you did start, or again, like down further on the bench. … having been it as a player, now as a coach, the role of those guys that maybe aren't the Stephs of the world. Yeah, they aren't the Michaels of the world.
Steve Kerr
The Shane Battiers of the world. I mean, no, I mean, Shane was the ultimate Glue guy. And I believe I started 17 games in my career. I may be off by one or two, but I think I played 900 and something games and I started 17 of them. Yeah, I was never, never like a major player, but frequently a role player. Maybe half of those 15 years I was like a twenty minute a night guy, and the other half I didn't play at all.
I actually realized that you could make a career out of being a really good twelfth man. You know, like there's a lot of guys in the league who can't take it. They can't deal with not playing and still bring it and be an important part because they just don't feel important. And I realized, oh, wait a second, like, this is my ticket to the NBA, really. Like, I can buy myself another five, six years just by being a good pro.
And when you approach it that way, inevitably you're going to have your moments too, where. You know, you have a chance to make an impact. And if you handle yourself the right way, you're more likely to succeed when that moment comes. Whereas if you're on the end of the bench, bitching and moaning, You can't be a glue guy if you're bitching and moaning, you know.
So I just think there's a way about certain players, and I've seen a lot of them with the Warriors, where it's just, guys who don't play a whole lot, and they're so important to the fabric of it. And it's important as a coach for me to let them know how valuable they are despite the fact they're not playing.
Agreeing to be Olympic coach and putting yourself on the line
Ravi Gupta
When you got asked to be the Olympic coach, was there any part of you that was not only enthusiastic, but maybe a little nervous? Because you know, these games are tighter and tighter and tighter than they've ever been, or at least they've been in recent memory. And we can lose, right, like, and it can be devastating, right? You know, to lose, you know, and you know, you already are a champion so many times over. Was it obvious of like, oh my God, this is the opportunity of a lifetime, I got to do it? Or was there any part of you that was like a little, I don't know, nervous about taking on that responsibility?
Steve Kerr
Oh, there's a huge part of me that was nervous about it. But that was way better than the thought of, wow, they asked me to be the Olympic coach, and I said, no??
So no, I think there's an incredible responsibility. That I spoke with Coach K about it. He was really helpful. Pop, you know, I was with Pop in Tokyo as an assistant. So both guys were really helpful to prepare me for that dynamic. And ultimately, what makes USA basketball so great is the leadership within the group. Sean Ford is one of the outstanding people I've ever met. Grant Hill. Grant Hill's amazing, as you guys know. Jim Tooley, who's the president there. They're so supportive and collaborative that from day one, you never feel like Oh shit, it's on me, even though you're the head coach and you know it is. You really feel like it's the group. It's like the group is in it together. They're an amazing organization. And every coach who's ever been through there, it just raves about USA basketball for a good reason.
Shane Battier
It just struck me when we talked about we could lose. You know, it brings me back to like why the journey is important is because every champion's gone through the fire and had a line of demarcation that it they know they're vulnerable. They they see their own mortality and whatever journey they're on. And you sort of come through that moment, whether it's down 3-1 in the finals or a tight game against Serbia, you're looking around and saying, this could be it. This could be it. And when you come through it, it's like, oh man, there's nothing better. And that's why it's important. It's not necessarily like that you won, it's that you faced. The line, you face the precipice of the abyss of losing, of being, you know, and also ran in the history books. And you came through it, right? So I thinking about what we talked about before, that that sticks out. I remember the times when it was on the line for us more than I remember actually coming down the nets, right?
Steve Kerr
That's what's important to me on the journey. Yeah, no, I agree, I agree. And that, I mean, it's the whole point of competition, you know, you're putting yourself out there, you're testing yourself. you're thinking about all your frailties and the stuff we talked about right from the beginning, Alex. Like, can I really do this? How am I going to get comfortable in this moment? And then when you actually put yourself on the line, you realize, like, I'm, you know, I got more to me than I thought I did, you know, and you have to overcome fears in life in a lot of different areas. But competition brings out that dynamic in a way that very few other things can, I think. And you're right, Shane, that's the reward when you face that challenge and you don't necessarily have to win either, but you got to bring it.
Mike Dunleavy and Bob Myers
Ravi Gupta
One of the things coach that you've been public about is sort of like the relationship you had with Bob Myers and now with Mike Dunleavy, and you at one point were a GM, right? And just sort of like learning from that experience of what was it like to be the GM and be, you know, work with the head coach, and then now be the head coach and work with the GM. What are some of the things that you've learned in that experience and like how what makes it work? What makes it a good one and a great one, like the ones you've had?
Steve Kerr
Yeah, I mean, a good partnership is not only support but challenging each other. Both Bob and Mike, and I know Shane, you know Mike well, being teammates with him at Duke. They have a really small roommate.
Shane Battier
So I know if you ever needed the dirt, I got the dirt.
Steve Kerr
Well, my best friend… hug.
I don't really want to. I love him. I don't really want to talk about the 2001 NCA Championship game where you beat my Wildcats and might get three threes in the second half. No, I think a great partnership includes challenging each other. And the only way you can do that is if you establish a relationship Of trust and compassion.
And I think the best leaders phrase things really well. Pop was the master of difficult conversations, the absolute master. And he just had a way of challenging you. Without insulting you, without putting you on your heels. It was more a collaborative, hey, you know, you got to do this because this is what we're trying to accomplish.
And I think Mike and Bob both share that. So, you know, Mike, Mike is great in terms of like, I'll call we talk every single day and I'll call him and I'll just say, what did you think last night? And We have such a good relationship now that he can say, like, have you thought about this? Like, what if you did this instead of doing that? And I'm not offended by it because I know he's in the fight with me.
Gregg Popovich gets Kerr off the floor
Alex Smith
You mentioned Pop there, and obviously, one of his strengths of having a difficult situation. But he is a guy that we celebrate, right? Just like yourself. And I'm just so interested, obviously, having been around him for so long. His superpower, right? Like, what made him one of the greatest coaches ever?
Steve Kerr
Yeah, it was his connection, his ability to connect with every single guy on the roster through humor, through compassion, through joy, through competitive fire. He just had an amazing way about him, the way he would challenge you.
I'll tell you a quick story. I was taken out of the rotation one year and I started sitting on the floor. Shane, you know this. Like when you start sitting on the floor, it's a little bit of an F you. To the coach, you know, like instead of sitting on the bench with the rest of the guys, you kind of lounge on the floor. And, you know, NBA players will do that occasionally. Some, you know, some guys may have a bad back or something, but you know, a lot of guys are just pouting. So I pulled that one and, you know, for a couple of games.
And he pulled me aside and he goes, Hey, I see you on the floor. That's not who you are. Like, the reason we signed you is because you're a pro and you're going to give the best to our team. And we're going to be better because of your presence. You're not the guy to sit on the floor. And I just dropped my head. I was like, God damn it, you're exactly right.
But honestly, a lot of coaches would have just let that go and gone back to the coaches meeting and gone like Fuck that guy, man. What's he doing? But he just, like, he just knew how to handle all the difficult conversations. So he was constantly putting out fires, you know, all season long.
Shane Battier
As a result, he could coach you harder. Right. So he got more out of you because he got everything out of you. Right. If a lesser relationship, you can't coach people hard, but he coached you hard because you knew he cared. Right.
Steve Kerr
Well, and players want the truth ultimately. They do, but the truth has to be told in the right way. And it's not necessarily like diplomatic. It's not necessarily. You know, this or that. It's just like a good coach, I think, understands how to deliver that message in the right time.