NBA | As player or coach, Warriors boss Steve Kerr is champion material

The Golden State Warriors lead the NBA Finals series 3-2 against the Boston Celtics and just need one more win to clinch the title for the fourth time under coach Steve Kerr. Game 6 is on Friday

He hit a championship-winning shot with Michael Jordan. He calls the shots for Stephen Curry.

From clutch to coach, Steve Kerr has done it all for some of basketball’s biggest winners. Any team that can claim to be a dynasty across the last 30 years of the NBA has some link to Golden State’s coach.

Now back in Boston, the winning Warrior is a victory away from a ninth NBA championship. It used to be that to win that much, you had to be a Celtic. Kerr just has to beat them.

If the Warriors win Game 6 on Thursday night, forget about another banner being hung in Boston. Instead, Kerr will be celebrating underneath them.

If so, he will credit Curry and Klay Thompson, just as he did as a player with Jordan and Scottie Pippen, or Tim Duncan and David Robinson, when trying to explain his success.

“Just hanging around the right people,” he said with a smile. “You hang around superstars long enough, you’re going to get some residual success falling your way.”

There's more to it than that, of course. Talent may take a team to the top, but staying there — and then getting back again after being knocked down — demands more than that. It requires understanding the personnel on the court and the personalities in the locker room.