After his Golden State Warriors produced arguably their finest display of the year to beat the Spurs on Sunday night, Steve Kerr has now experienced two separate 72-win seasons – and he admitted it was a lot to take in.
“I don’t even know what to say, really,” said Kerr after the Warriors’ 92-86 victory at AT&T Center.
Kerr was a sharpshooting reserve on the legendary Bulls team featuring Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, and added 688 points for Chicago in their record-breaking 1995-96 season. Now he has the chance to beat his own record against Memphis on Wednesday: victory would give Golden State 73 wins on the season – something never before done in the NBA.
“It’s crazy,” Kerr admitted. “It just feels like a right-place-right-time type thing to be part of two teams that have performed like this and won at this level for the entire season. I’m pretty lucky, really, just to play next to Michael and Scottie and Dennis, and play for Phil, and come here and inherit this whole group. Steph and Klay and Draymond and Andre, and everybody else, as my first coaching job. A pretty good draw.”
The Warriors got to 72 by beating the Spurs in San Antonio – something no one else had managed to do this season. They aso snapped a 33-game winless streak in south central Texas, dating back to 1997.
Kerr claimed he forgot the Warriors had lost 33 straight in San Antonio until a reporter reminded him during his postgame interview. Either way, he had ready quip to make.
“With apologies to Vitas Gerulaitis, I’ll use his line,” Kerr said, paraphrasing the late tennis great. “Nobody, and I mean nobody, beats the Golden State Warriors 34 straight times. Nobody, you got that?”
Gerulaitis famously uttered a similar quote after snapping a 16-match losing to Jimmy Connors in January 1980. “And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row,” the American quipped.
Wednesday’s game in Oakland coincides with Kobe Bryant’s final game for the Lakers in LA, and both games are on course to be the most expensive of the season.
Fans have paid a StubHub average of $971 for a ticket at the Staples Center, while the price paid for the Grizzlies-Warriors game on Wednesday night is now $436.
If the Warriors break the record, “Jud Buechler will call me to congratulate me,” Kerr predicted. “That’s my guy. And Luc Longley will have some snarky joke for me. And everybody else will just mutter expletives under their breath and leave me alone.”
