Why Steve Kerr understands Warriors fans’ ‘weird’ feelings about LeBron pursuit originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors’ pursuit of LeBron James was perhaps the largest storyline of this NBA offseason in the Bay.
However, after James eventually signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, coach Steve Kerr shared his belief that Golden State wasn’t ever “realistically” in the running to land the 22-time NBA All-Star.
In Friday’s episode of the “Tom Tolbert Show,” Kerr joined his former college teammate at Arizona to discuss the Warriors’ recruitment of James and the rather awkward dilemma it created for many in Dub Nation.
“I don’t think it’s exactly earth-shattering news, or I don’t think I’ll get fined for saying, like, it never really felt like he was coming here,” Kerr told Tolbert. “To me, it was more speculation than anything. I think we would have had a much better sense that, you know, something was going to happen.
“It’s been really interesting, though, hearing fans around the Bay — like, you know, people will randomly come up to me and say, ‘I’m glad we didn’t get LeBron.’ And I’m like, ‘Really?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s like he’s not supposed to be on our team. He’s a rival.’ And I get that as a sports fan. It’d be like, you know, should Magic [Johnson] and [Larry] Bird have played on the same team?
“So, I mean, just as a coach and having coached him in the Olympics — sign me up. … But it’s been interesting hearing our fans. I think fans, you know, because of the emotional connection you have to your team and rivalries and all that stuff, I think it was just a weird thought. That’s the reaction I’m getting from a lot of people.”
On one hand, the thought of James playing with Steph Curry is mouth-watering to most basketball fans, especially after they teamed up to win gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics with Kerr as the coach.
But at the same time, as Kerr acknowledged, it likely would have been weird for Warriors fans, who have seen James has a primary rival for over a decade.
Maybe that latter factor played into James’ decision not to join Golden State in the end — and possibly his lack of perceived interest in the first place.
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