Steve Kerr is a former American basketball player. At the present moment, Kerr is coaching the Golden State Warriors. From 2007 to 2010 he worked as general manager at the Phoenix Suns club. Steve Kerr managed to establish himself as one of the best coaches in recent years. With the Golden State Warriors, Kerr won 3 championship titles. While he had players like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant, still, this is a feat worth mentioning.
How many rings does Steve Kerr have? Steve Kerr has five championship rings as a player and three championship rings as a coach. Therefore, Steve Kerr has eight championship rings.
Steve Kerr certainly turned basketball upside down with his innovative approach, but few people know that Kerr was one of the best shooters and key members of the Chicago Bulls that won 3 consecutive titles with Michael Jordan. In total Steve Kerr has 5 championship rings as a player and 3 as a coach. We will have a look at these achievements and also delve deeper into biographical aspects.
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Early years
Born in Beirut in 1965, Steve Kerr showed admiration towards basketball at a very young age. He was very skillful, which led his parents to actually think of the young player’s future. His father was a scientist – Malcolm Kerr. During his early years, Kerr visited a lot of Arab countries. Spending a childhood in the Middle East was not easy as that period can be characterized by tensions and upheavals that impacted a lot of people.
Amateur career
Steve Kerr was not a very distinguished player if we are going to assess him, particularly by his capabilities. His jump was very weak as well as the ability to convert long shots. However, after hard effort and work, Kerr proved everyone wrong and he was a part of the team that took part in the Olympics. The injury, though, forced him to miss out on the important games.
Transition to professionals
In 1988 Steve Kerr officially came to the NBA and it is not a surprising fact that basketball became his main “hobby”. After unsuccessful stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns, Kerr was sold to the Chicago Bulls where the prominent player won 3 rings alongside Michael Jordan.
In the seasons 1993/94, 1994/95, the Bulls managed to get into the playoffs, but things did not go upwards. Without Michael Jordan, it was hard to talk about any success, because he was the main player and leader of the team.
It would be unfair not to mention his personal achievement. In 1997 Steve Kerr became the winner of the NBA Three-Point Contest. While a lot of people might ignore this feat, it is very difficult to beat other players. Kerr managed to do that.
Championship titles
In the successive 1995/96 season, the situation changed dramatically. Jordan returned from his retirement and helped the team win the NBA Finals. In 1997, the Chicago Bulls won the title again. In one of the final games, a memorable moment happened. Steve Kerr received a pass from Jordan and scored the decisive 3-pointer. In the history of the franchise, the Chicago Bulls won the title for the fifth time and the rest is only the history.
In 1998, during the final season of Michael Jordan, Kerr was still playing for the Bulls. Everyone remembers a final shot of Michael Jordan against the Utah Jazz that sealed the win for Chicago. After that Jordan retired and Kerr also changed his team.
New team
After the final championship with the Chicago Bulls in 1998, Kerr moved to the San Antonio Spurs, where the player won his 2 final championships alongside Gregg Popovich. In these championships, Kerr was not the main factor and Tim Ducan had a stellar performance, but still, he played some role in the playoffs and regular seasons.
Kerr announced retirement in 2003. He was never a leader, a player with incredible qualities but what was assigned to him – Kerr executed accurately and without hesitation. Players like Steve Kerr might be hard to find in the modern NBA. Kerr averaged 6.0 points per game which is not something you would use to describe great players. He was more of a bench player averaging 17.8 minutes in his 910 games.
Coaching and 3 championship titles
After finishing his playing career, Kerr began to comment on basketball games. In 2015 while in this position, he won his first title. Golden State coach Steve Kerr became the 7th coach in NBA history and the first since 1982 to do so in his debut season.

In 2016 he set up a record with his team – breaking his former club’s record of 72 wins. However, he missed out on winning the Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Though, with Kevin Durant in his team, Kerr won two consecutive championships but surrendered the title to the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
Steve Kerr is an outstanding player and a good coach. It is not easy to be as successful equally both as a player and a coach. Kerr did both. With the Chicago Bulls, the player managed to win 3 titles and the final 2 with the San Antonio Spurs. Keep in mind that in one of the championship games, Steve played a pivotal role by executing a 3-point shot.
As a coach, Steve Kerr was successful as well. We should note once again that a lot of people are doubting his capabilities because surrounded by incredible players, other coaches would have been able to do the same. However, Kerr created a system that other managers can only envy.