Getty Team USA head coach Steve Kerr.
Head coach Steve Kerr’s success with the Golden State Warriors over the last decade has turned him into one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, though one of his former teammates apparently disagrees with that notion.
Five-time champion and Hall of Fame player Dennis Rodman played alongside Kerr as members of the Chicago Bulls between 1995-98, where the former captured the last three of his rings. Rodman shared some candid thoughts on his ex-teammate’s coaching achievements when fielding a question about whether he saw Kerr’s success coming during their time together in the Windy City.
“Steve Kerr ain’t coaching [expletive],” Rodman said during a video that Reddit user LatinX_Ally posted to the website on Wednesday, July 24. “Steve Kerr’s having a good time. He ain’t coaching, he’s just having a good time. He just sitting there letting those kids shoot. That’s all he’s doing, he’s just sitting there. He ain’t doing a [expletive] thing.”
Rodman’s Critique of Kerr’s Coaching Job Could Be Several Years Old
GettyDennis Rodman, formerly of the Chicago Bulls.
When Rodman actually made the statement in question and where he was when he did so is unclear from the 29-second video. The user with the most-liked comment on the video thread, with 260 likes as of late Thursday night, accused the original poster of dredging up a video from “10 years ago” and referred to the action as “elite hating.”
The interviewer in the video mentions Derek Fisher, a former member of the Los Angeles Lakers, who became head coach of the New York Knicks ahead of the 2014-15 campaign. That was the same year that Kerr landed the Golden State gig, though he remains in his position while Knicks brass dismissed Fisher after just two seasons at the helm and a 40-96 record.
The unnamed interviewer references Fisher in comparison to Kerr, specifically the disparity in the success of the two former players as head coaches in the NBA. The interviewer also made the reference to Fisher in the present tense, as though he was still coaching at the time the question was asked. If that was not a slip up in speech, it could indicate that the video was recorded between eight and 10 years before finding its way to Reddit on Wednesday.
Rodman’s Comments on Kerr’s Coaching Prowess Regard His Time With Warriors
GettyStephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors (left) and former teammate Klay Thompson (right).
In the context of the question Rodman answered, he was talking about Kerr’s success with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in Golden State — “those kids” that Kerr is “sitting there” and letting “shoot,” the latter of whom left the team in free agency earlier this month to join the Dallas Mavericks. The interviewer asked Rodman specifically about Kerr’s winning ways with the Warriors before Rodman offered his response.
Kerr is currently coaching Team USA as it prepares to open the Summer Olympics in Paris on Sunday against Serbia. However, there was no mention of Team USA or the Olympics by either the interviewer or Rodman in the short clip.
Kerr has led the Warriors to six NBA Finals appearances and four titles over the last 10 years. He also captured five rings as a player, three with the Bulls and two as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
He won a gold medal as a player with Team USA at the 1986 FIBA World Cup before turning pro. Kerr also captured Olympic gold in 2020 as an assistant coach with Team USA, serving on the staff of then head coach Gregg Popovich.