Why Kerr believes Steph is modern-day Michael Jordan originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Steve Kerr spent a little over three seasons as Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls teammate, and he now is in his ninth year coaching Steph Curry.
If there's anyone on this planet best equipped to compare the two NBA legends, it's Kerr.
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Following the Warriors' 127-118 win over the Washington Wizards at Capitol One Arena on Monday, Kerr was asked about the MVP chants Curry heard from the road crowd in Washington D.C.
"He's the modern MJ," Kerr told reporters. "I used to see this playing with the Bulls. Half the crowd's got red 23 jerseys on and now half the crowd's got blue and yellow 30 jerseys."
When Jordan played, fans wanted to be like him, dunk like him, shrug like him after a big shot and stick out their tongues after a game-changing moment.
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Now, fans want to shoot like Curry, shimmy like him and flex like the baby-faced assassin.
Jordan and Curry are generational talents who changed basketball in their own ways.
"Steph transcends the game," Kerr said. "He elicits an emotion from people, I think, because he's so awe-inspiring with his play that, no matter where we go, there are people cheering for him and can't wait to see him perform because we've never seen anything like him. And I think people can relate to him because he's not this superhero, in terms of his size and strength. He's 6-foot-3, 185 [pounds]. There's a lot of people out there that size but none who can do what he can do.
"He's incredibly inspiring and as a result, we get a ton of support on the road."
With under 30 seconds remaining in regulation Monday, as Curry stepped to the free-throw line to ice the win, fans in the building loudly serenaded him with MVP chants, something that isn't unfamiliar to the two-time NBA MVP and reigning NBA Finals MVP.
But to hear Kerr compare him to Jordan, arguably the greatest to ever play the game, is unique.
"I think it's interesting because, like you said, he played with [Jordan] and he understood what the road shows looked like in opposing arenas when fans come out and how Dub Nation has grown over the years," Curry told reporters when asked about Kerr's comments. "So that's special."
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Curry has turned the Warriors into a traveling road show, drawing crowds into opposing arenas 60 or 90 minutes before tip-off just to watch him warm up. Most cities across the country now possess Golden State fans. The franchise is a global brand because of Curry.
"I think everything you take the floor and you feel that energy, I don't ever take that for granted because it wasn't always like that," Curry said. "And that's what we play the game for, in a sense of fans being a part of the journey, coming out and spending their hard-earned money on tickets, and creating the atmosphere like we had tonight, it was, from the time we ran out on the floor for warmups, throughout the whole game, it was amazing.
"Fortunately, we feel that most nights on the road and at home, obviously. That means a lot. So I'll leave that to him to make the comparison but it is special knowing what our accomplishments have done in terms of bringing that atmosphere night after night, even on the road."
While Jordan and Curry are very different players, fans gravitated to both of them in the same way, following them wherever they go. And Kerr had a front-row seat for both shows.
