Watch The Last Dance, a 10-part documentary series on Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls on Netflix via your Sky Q box now
Tuesday 21 April 2020 08:45, UK
Steve Kerr knows the triumph of being an NBA champion. He also knows the weight of being a champion. The two truly go hand in hand with each other.
There's no greater feeling than reaching the mountain-top of your profession. The toll it takes to get there and stay there is a different story.
"I think just because of a number of things," Kerr said to Scott Van Pelt on ESPN's 'SC with SVP' when asked about what makes winning so taxing. "Your opponents are gunning for you year after year. So, they're not only getting better, they're building their roster for you. They're thinking of you every waking moment.
"And as you go and as you win, the motivation, the energy that it takes, it just gets more and more difficult.
"So for every team, whether it was the Bulls or the Warriors or the Heat, the Lakers and Celtics in the 1980s, you win two or three championships and it just gets more and more difficult because it's exhausting. And every other team is just coming at you every other day."
Kerr was a part of the Chicago Bulls for Michael Jordan's second-three peat and then won two more championships with the San Antonio Spurs. He is off to a historic start as a coach in the NBA, reaching five straight Finals with the Warriors to start his career, and winning three rings.
While he has found instant success as a coach, Kerr credits his days with the 1990s Bulls teams as one of the reasons he grabbed a clipboard.
"If I hadn't been on those Bulls teams, none of the rest of my career would have happened, and I mean that," Kerr said.
Just like he saw with the Bulls, winning hasn't always been pretty with the Warriors. It certainly won't be easy, or pretty, keeping the dynasty alive, too.
