Phil Jackson. Pat Riley. Gregg Popovic.
Only those legendary Hall of Fame coaches reached 600 wins as head coaches faster than Steve Kerr, who hit the milestone on Monday night when the Warriors beat the Washington Wizards.
“It’s surreal to hear my name in that group, but I can tell you that it’s one thing that bonds us all together, those names and mine,” Kerr said after the win, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s talent. It’s talent. I mean, you can’t win in this league without great players, and I was blessed from the day I took this job with incredible talent with Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson] and Andre [Iguodala] and Andrew Bogut and down down the list ...
“All these guys are just amazing, and so I owe the honor to incredible talent and a great organization. Just to work for the Warriors, to be part of this amazing group of people that [Warriors owners] Joe Lacob and Peter Guber put together. Just to be a part of this, I’m so blessed, and most organizations are not this strong and this aligned, and I’m very, very lucky.”
There are 28 coaches who have reached 600 wins, but Kerr does it with four titles and coaching the team of a generation. Kerr won rings as a player for Jackson and Popovich and served as a bridge from that era to the modern game — which his Warriors helped form.
This current Warriors team — with both Jimmy Butler (ACL) and Stephen Curry (knee) — out injured is struggling to hold its position in the West and appears headed for the play-in. The Warriors did get Kristaps Porzingis and Draymond Green back for the win in Washington.
Kerr is in the final year of his contract but has put off discussing his future with the team until this season ends. That said, around the league, the expectation is that he will be back coaching the Warriors next season.
