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When Steve Kerr joined the Chicago Bulls in 1993, his NBA future was full of uncertainty.
The then, sixth-year guard had signed a non-guaranteed deal and was eager to play alongside Michael Jordan.
But just as he arrived, the unthinkable happened. Jordan walked away from basketball to play baseball.
It unexpectedly turned his career around, Kerr admitted on The Glue Guy Podcast.
“Yeah. So, it actually was to my benefit in some ways that he went because it opened up a bunch of playing time,” Kerr said. “It was bad for the rest of the Bulls and their fan base, but it was good for me.”
The extra minutes proved to be exactly what he needed. In his first season with Chicago, Kerr averaged 8.6 points and 2.6 assists across 82 games, a big jump from the 5.0 points and 2.2 assists he posted before arriving.
His playing time ballooned from 15.5 minutes to 24.8 per game, and being surrounded by proven champions like Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, and Bill Cartwright helped him learn how to win at the highest level.
“And then, of course, Michael came back two years later and we started winning, you know, winning again,” Kerr said. “So it was, you know, what I learned was it’s a lot easier to develop a role, on a great team with great players than on an average team, you know, where everybody’s just kind of confused as to, you know, who’s the man and all that stuff. The hierarchy in Chicago allowed me, and the offense allowed me to just plug right in.”
That plug-and-play role eventually led to Kerr’s most famous moment, his game-winning jumper in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals, clinching the Bulls’ fifth title in seven years.
READ MORE: Steve Kerr on Steph Curry’s Michael Jordan-Like Mindset
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