LAIE, Hawaii – Chaos is how Steve Kerr best describes the start of his first training camp as Warriors head coach in 2014. The ball was flying all over the gym and there were too many turnovers to count as the first-time head coach tried to get his team to buy into playing faster and faster than ever before. Kerr was implementing his system and creating a culture he knew he believed in, despite not having any coaching experience.
Admittedly, moments of doubt crept in. “We were not very disciplined those first few days,” Kerr tells NBC Sports Bay Area in an exclusive interview. “I remember thinking, ‘Is this going to work? Do I know what the hell I’m doing?’ “Obviously, it evened out.
It’s a good reminder to me the first few days of training camp are always a little rough.” The crazy chaos Kerr had to shake his head at early on quickly turned into controlled chaos, leading to 67 wins and the Warriors’ first championship in 40 years. Golden State became the trendsetters of the modern NBA.
Everybody was looking for ways to both be the Warriors, and beat the Warriors. As they launched 3-pointers left and right and from unthinkable distances, their competition began catching up, or at least they tried. The small-ball revolution is thanks in large part to Kerr, as well as having the luxury of generational talent in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and others to pull it off.
Now, the game has grown bigger with front-court.