Video Highlights Kerr and Curry’s Unique Bond

The very best teams of all time regularly include strong relationships between the head coach and the most important player. In the NBA, we’ve seen it with Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan, Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan, and Red Auerbach and Bill Russell. There are plenty of examples in other sports as well, but very few of those would be likely to produce a video like the one of Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry that recently went viral on Twitter.

The video consists of a collection of “Mic’d Up” segments featuring Kerr talking to Curry during and after several different games. Typically, these clips consist of strategy discussions and vague motivational suggestions for how to play better. What we saw from Kerr was very different. Yes, it was rooted in motivation, but it went far deeper than that. It felt less like a professional coach speaking to one of his players and more like something you’d hear in a Little League dugout. It even bordered on what a parent might say to their child to encourage them during or after a game.

“You’re doing great stuff out there. The tempo is so different when you’re out there,” Kerr tells his point guard in one part of the video. “Everything you generate for us is so positive … you’re doing great. Carry on, my son.”

That clip comes in the context of a game during the 2016-2017 season in which Curry was struggling to shoot the ball but had a high plus-minus, demonstrating his impact on the game even when he isn’t scoring much. Kerr was trying to give Curry confidence. Of course, that’s something Curry has never lacked in — but Kerr is there to make sure it never goes away, even briefly.

“One of the things I love about you is you’re, like, 2-for-11, [and you have] no hesitation shooting a 60-footer,” Kerr says in another clip. “Nobody in the league does that. You have so much confidence in yourself … [I] wish I had your confidence.”

Kerr regularly encourages Curry to keep shooting regardless of his performance. Having coached Curry for nearly six years, he knows what his star player is capable of and recognizes the importance of a team’s focal point being unafraid. In the rare moments where Curry falls victim to a lack of trust in himself, Kerr is right there to nudge him back to his normal confident state.

Kerr also understands the difficulty of much of what Curry has been through in his career, such as bad games and long, grueling playoff runs. In these moments, Kerr is able to draw on his own experiences as a player and sharpshooter who played on some of the most iconic teams, and for some of the best coaches, of all time.

“[Popovich] was, like, you know, my mentor,” he says during an NBA Finals game, referencing his four seasons playing for the San Antonio Spurs. “He would always tell us in these situations, ‘It’s supposed to be hard.’”

It’s not just helping Curry through the hard times where Kerr stands out. When Curry plays well, his coach is right there to offer praise, once again in the context of his playing career.

“I would love to feel whatever the hell you’re feeling right now just once in my life,” Kerr says during another game in the 2016-2017 season. “For me, if I went 5-for-6 and made four threes, that was about the best I ever did.”

It’s clear that Kerr has Curry’s back with no exceptions at all. Their bond is unique, driven by their similarities. Both are point guards whose best skill is shooting, but there’s a lot more to it. Both are intensely competitive, but also appreciate the importance of having fun playing the game of basketball and looking at the big picture, rather than getting caught up in the previous play. When Kerr speaks to Curry, all of that shines through. Obviously, Kerr wants to win — but he wants to make sure that Curry gets there in the right way, with his state of mind in the place that will produce the greatest amount of success.

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