Steve Kerr honored by Team USA as 5-on-5 Coach of the Year

Coach Kerr continues to cement one of the greatest basketball legacies of all time. PUT SOME RESPECT ON HIS NAME.

Heeey, our very own head coach Steve Kerr has been announced as the 2024 USA Basketball 5-on-5 Coach of the Year!

Per USA Basketball:

Kerr, head coach of the USA Men’s National Team since 2022, was named the 2024 USA Basketball Coach of the Year. The 11th-year leader of the Golden State Warriors spearheaded the United States’ run to the gold medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 – marking its fifth consecutive and 17th finish overall atop the global podium.

The Americans assembled a 3-0 record in Group C play, posting a +64-point differential to earn the No. 1 seed in the knockout stage. They ousted Brazil, Serbia and France en route to the crown, dictating for much of that run but surviving a 95-91 thriller against the Serbians in the semifinals.

Kerr’s coaching career with the Warriors is a masterclass in sustained excellence, even if the man himself sometimes gets dragged through the mud by fans who think they could do a better job from their couches.

Since taking the helm in 2014 Kerr has built a dynasty by winning four NBA championships in six NBA Finals trip and turning Golden State into the gold standard of modern basketball. His motion-heavy offense and emphasis on ball movement revolutionized the game, leading to some of the most beautiful basketball ever played.

Sure, people nitpick his rotations to death, question his loyalty to veterans, and groan when he refuses to spam pick-and-rolls. But let’s be real folks: he’s one of the greatest coaches of all time without a shadow of a doubt.

Now, he’s brought that same championship pedigree to Team USA. But before anyone assumes another Olympic gold is merely a given, history tells a different story. The days of America sleepwalking to gold medals are long gone.

Just ask Mike Krzyzewski, who had to regroup after a 2006 FIBA World Cup loss. Or ask Gregg Popovich, who suffered an early shock defeat in the Tokyo Olympics before Team USA ultimately claimed gold. International talent has caught up in a lot of ways, and losing has happened to teams that featured names like LeBron James and Tim Duncan before.

This is where Kerr’s experience sets him apart. Managing egos? He’s been doing that since day one. His coaching tree includes Phil Jackson and Popovich, two of the greatest at balancing superstar talent with team-first mentality. But Kerr didn’t just learn from them, he has lived experience,

As a player, he was a five-time NBA champion, knocking down clutch shots for Michael Jordan’s Bulls and the aforementioned Duncan’s Spurs. His game-winning three in the 1997 Finals is the stuff of legend, and he still holds the all-time record for highest career three-point percentage in NBA history (45.4%). He was never the biggest star, but he understood exactly what it took to play alongside the best and win at the highest level.

That same ability to connect with superstars has been crucial in Golden State, where he’s coached legends like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green. He has managed all of their personalities and keeptthe Warriors’ dynasty intact despite roster changes, injuries, and outside noise.

And now, as Team USA’s head coach, he has taken that skill to the international stage, successfully blending elite talent into a cohesive unit against countries that no longer see America as unbeatable.

Winning gold is the expectation, but it’s far from guaranteed. Kerr got it done, and it’s high time these jabronis put some respect on his name.