Watch Game 1 of the NBA Finals live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Frday morning (2am)
Thursday 30 May 2019 06:29, UK
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently quoted Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in a post-game news conference. But his affection for the Anfield club goes much deeper than that.
On the night Liverpool completed their dramatic Champions League semi-final comeback win over Barcelona, the defending NBA champions overcame injury to their star player Kevin Durant to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semi-final series.
Kerr, thrilled at the performance of his team, echoed Klopp's words from hours earlier: "My players are ****ing giants!"
Kerr's interest in the Premier League runners-up runs far deeper than that, and it starts with Mo Salah.
In an interview with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Kerr explained that, thanks to having a sister who lives in England, he had "kind of enjoyed the connection" with the Premier League but not found a team to support. That changed last year during the World Cup.
"This past summer I really was intrigued by the Mo Salah story - Egypt qualified for the World Cup for the first time in I don't know how long. And I lived in Egypt for three years growing up. I have a soft spot in my heart for the country.
"So then I started reading more about Mo Salah. And the guy's incredible. He stood up to the Egyptian soccer federation. He said, 'no, you've gotta take care of our team. You've gotta do this the right way or I'm not playing'. And that's no small feat in Egypt.
"Reading those stories … I've gotta cheer for Liverpool! This is a no-brainer. I'd been watching the Premier League because it's the most incredible soccer. The level of play is just outrageous. But I needed a team. So I picked Liverpool based on Mo Salah."
"As the season started, I really got locked in. I started watching every match every weekend. It was such a magical season. And it was, to me, culminated by that incredible comeback [against Barcelona].
"I mean, what they did is the equivalent of telling a team a few years ago, all right, you have to go to Cleveland and you have to beat LeBron [James] and the Cavs by 25. I mean, 4-0 in a soccer game against Messi [and Barcelona]? Basically, go beat LeBron by 25. And that's what they did.
"There's nothing more beautiful than seeing a team overcome something and pull together and the fans involved. Someday. I'll get to Anfield at some point."
Kerr told The Athletic he sees a parallel between his sport and football.
"It's very similar to basketball, he said. Angles. Triangles. Give and go. Creating scoring chances. That's why some of the best passers in the NBA were guys who used to be soccer players.
"You know, Steve Nash immediately comes to mind. Toni Kukoc. Guys who played soccer generally see the floor really well in basketball."
As Liverpool prepare for the Champions League Final with Tottenham, Kerr will attempt to guide his Warriors team to their third successive NBA championship as they face Eastern Conference champions the Toronto Raptors.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals takes place in Toronto in the early hours of Friday morning (2am) live on Sky Sports Arena.
