Warriors' Steve Kerr Claims 'Honorary Golden Bear' Status at Cal Event

BERKELEY — Not everything basketball-related in Berkeley was rough on Monday night.

Longtime Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr participated in a thoughtful 75-minute fireside chat hosted by the student-led Berkeley Forum before many Cal students and fans at the Field Club inside Memorial Stadium.

Kerr, an NBA icon and future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, discussed several topics, including overcoming his father’s assassination, reasons for his outspoken and progressive political stances, collaborating with figures such as Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich and Steph Curry, and his overall journey through life and leadership.

The 60-year-old shared several great soundbites throughout the event — and some of which were about the Blue and Gold.

Kerr discussed his personal ties to Cal and highlighted his daughter, Maddy, and older son, Nick, for their alumni statuses.

“I’m an honorary Golden Bear,” Kerr said to a roaring applause. “Two of my three kids went to school here. My daughter played volleyball here from 2013-17, and then she went to law school here. My son walked on to the basketball team for a year, and then was on the staff and got his master’s degree in public health here.

“My wife (Margot) and I used to live right up above the Claremont Hotel, and we would come down to campus all the time, when we (the Warriors) played at Oracle (Arena). (We’d) come see games. I love this school. I think it’s an amazing place.”

The nine-time NBA champion, who has won five rings as a player with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs and four as a coach in the Bay Area, is a proud Arizona Wildcat.

But Kerr, as he said, is an honorary Golden Bear, too.

“What Berkeley means to the Bay Area, what it means to our family — I love this place,” Kerr said. “Go Bears.”

That wasn’t the only love he showed to the one-of-a-kind East Bay city on Monday night.

Kerr also shared a neat story about an afternoon with Curry early into their Golden State partnership, when the now-12-year Warriors coach was hired in 2014.

“The beauty with Steph was that it was instantaneous,” Kerr said of his strong relationship with the game’s greatest sharpshooter. “He's such a humble, accommodating person who connects with people so easily. Right after I got the job, I met him for lunch right on University in Berkeley, and I brought my wife, he brought his wife, and we'd done much; we talked basketball. A week later, we played a round of golf together, and I felt like I had known him my whole life.

“As good as he is on the court, he's just as good as a human being. He's just so easy to connect with. And we share a lot of the same values. We look at the world in a similar way … We had a connection from the start, and we happened to have a great team right away. So when you have success right away, and there's a connection, that trust built quickly.”

Kerr and Curry have one of the greatest coach-player dynamics in the history of sports.

And given that the world revolves around Berkeley, it was only right that the pair of hardwood heroes started their dream journey together in the city of Golden Bears.

There was much to savor from the enlightening conversation with Kerr. 

But if there was any one thing to take away, especially given the latest Cal basketball transfer portal news, it’s that he has accomplished so much — in basketball and in life — in the Bay, with several Blue and Gold roots. 

In other words, Berkeley can be a basketball haven; just ask the coach of one of the NBA’s greatest dynasties, who has seen it all, from Mike to LeBron to Steph.