Steve Kerr: A Biography
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- Create Date：2021-06-25 06:16:08
- Update Date：2025-09-25
- Status：finish
- Author：Scott Howard-Cooper
- ISBN：0063001276
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Summary
In this in-depth biography， an award-winning sports journalist assesses the life and career of Steve Kerr， the championship-winning basketball player and head coach of the record-breaking Golden State Warriors。
Few individuals have had a career as storied—and improbable—as Steve Kerr。 He’s been part of eight NBA titles， General Manager of a franchise， and a respected broadcaster。 Playing under three Hall of Fame coaches， including Phil Jackson， and a fourth destined for enshrinement， Gregg Popovich， Kerr was on five championship teams before winning three more as one of the most accomplished coaches in the NBA， with three NBA titles。 Kerr’s teammates have included the greatest of the greatest: Michael Jordan， Shaquille O’Neal， Tim Duncan， Scottie Pippen， David Robinson， and Dennis Rodman。
In this fascinating biography， Scott Howard-Cooper looks at the man and the facets of his unusual life that have made him a legend， from his childhood growing up in the Middle East as the son of academics， to the tragedy of his father’s murder by terrorists; the inauspicious years of his early career at the University of Arizona and in the NBA; his championship-winning seasons with the Chicago Bulls and the Antonio Spurs; his success as head coach of the Golden State Warriors， leading the team to the NBA title in his first year， and adding two more championships in the next four seasons。
The only NBA coach other than Red Auerbach to lead a team to the Finals five consecutive seasons， Kerr seems destined for the Basketball Hall of Fame。 Steve Kerr is his incredible story， offering insights into the man， the game he personifies， and what it takes to be—and make—a champion。
Steve Kerr includes 24 photos。
Few individuals have had a career as storied—and improbable—as Steve Kerr。 He’s been part of eight NBA titles， General Manager of a franchise， and a respected broadcaster。 Playing under three Hall of Fame coaches， including Phil Jackson， and a fourth destined for enshrinement， Gregg Popovich， Kerr was on five championship teams before winning three more as one of the most accomplished coaches in the NBA， with three NBA titles。 Kerr’s teammates have included the greatest of the greatest: Michael Jordan， Shaquille O’Neal， Tim Duncan， Scottie Pippen， David Robinson， and Dennis Rodman。
In this fascinating biography， Scott Howard-Cooper looks at the man and the facets of his unusual life that have made him a legend， from his childhood growing up in the Middle East as the son of academics， to the tragedy of his father’s murder by terrorists; the inauspicious years of his early career at the University of Arizona and in the NBA; his championship-winning seasons with the Chicago Bulls and the Antonio Spurs; his success as head coach of the Golden State Warriors， leading the team to the NBA title in his first year， and adding two more championships in the next four seasons。
The only NBA coach other than Red Auerbach to lead a team to the Finals five consecutive seasons， Kerr seems destined for the Basketball Hall of Fame。 Steve Kerr is his incredible story， offering insights into the man， the game he personifies， and what it takes to be—and make—a champion。
Steve Kerr includes 24 photos。
Reviews
Allen Adams
，
Sports biographies are tricky things。The history of professional sports in this country is built on a foundation of legacy。 The lionization of athletic giants is an underlying tenet of pro sports， with the games in a constant conversation with their own history。 Protecting that history – that legacy – is paramount to many if not most pro athletes。At the same time， leaving that history unexamined does a disservice to the reader。 A simple and glowing account of an athlete’s feats， all buffed gloss Sports biographies are tricky things。The history of professional sports in this country is built on a foundation of legacy。 The lionization of athletic giants is an underlying tenet of pro sports， with the games in a constant conversation with their own history。 Protecting that history – that legacy – is paramount to many if not most pro athletes。At the same time， leaving that history unexamined does a disservice to the reader。 A simple and glowing account of an athlete’s feats， all buffed glossiness， is nothing more than hagiography – overly simplistic， unchallenging … and incredibly dull。And it only gets trickier when the subject isn’t directly involved。That’s the juggling act Scott Howard-Cooper has undertaken with his new book “Steve Kerr: A Life。” It’s the story of the rich and fascinating life lived by Steve Kerr。 From his globetrotting boyhood to an underdog basketball journey to the pinnacle of his profession， Kerr’s is a tale almost too interesting to be real， marked by triumph and tragedy。Telling that story without a direct contribution from Kerr is a bold choice， one that Howard-Cooper hasn’t undertaken lightly。 Thanks to his decades-long history and sterling reputation in the sportswriting sphere， he’s one of the few writers with the combination of juice and talent to make a project like this work。The book delivers precisely what the title promises – this is the life of Steve Kerr。 He was born the son of academics， people who traveled the world。 He grew up bouncing between Europe， the Middle East and southern California。 But all the while， his passion for basketball was growing – as was his talent。He turned that talent into a scintillating high school career， but his perceived limitations – lack of speed and athleticism and defensive acumen – outweighed his obvious shooting skill for most college coaches。 Lucky circumstances landed him a last-ditch end-of-the-bench spot at Arizona， playing for Lute Olson。 He turned from a scrub to a starter， part of the program’s renaissance。It was also during his time at UA that Steve Kerr came to the attention of the nation， but not for his actions on the court。 It wasn’t about him at all in fact; Kerr’s father， serving as the president of the American University in Beirut， was killed by an assassin。 Burying his grief， Kerr soon returned to the court and pressed onward – basketball was his only refuge from sad reality。He was drafted by the NBA in the second round; Kerr hoped to squeeze out a season or two in the league before turning to broadcasting or coaching or front office work。 He’d do all those things， but not until after he wrapped up a 15-year career with a reputation for three-point sharpshooting and intensely inquisitive basketball intelligence。 Oh， and five rings。From there， he spent time as the general manager of the Phoenix Suns and a few years as an exceptional member of NBA broadcast teams。 His first （and still only） head coaching job was taking over the Golden State Warriors – he just wrapped up his seventh season on the bench。 In five of those seasons， the Warriors won the Wester Conference。 And in three， they were NBA champs。In that span， we also saw Kerr become considerably more outspoken about the issues of the day， expressing his thoughts about gun violence and occasionally sniping at （and getting sniped at by） the President of the United States。 He also dealt with significant back injuries， with a procedure to fix a herniated disc leading to years of agony， pain so great that he missed significant time， unable to do his job。“Steve Kerr: A Life” would have been a different book with more buy-in from Kerr and the Warriors organization。 That’s not in dispute。 However， there’s no disputing the care and thoroughness with which Howard-Cooper has assembled this work。 Diligently assembling over 100 in-person interviews to go with piles of annotated research， Howard-Cooper has put together a comprehensive look at one of the most interesting men in professional sports today。The author’s admiration for his subject is clear， but while his appreciation of Kerr is effusive throughout， Howard-Cooper does manage to avoid falling into the trap of starry-eyed hagiography。 Kerr’s imperfections might be relatively few， but they are there; Howard-Cooper shares them with us just as readily as the lauding pages of accolades。“Steve Kerr: A Life” is a straightforward sports biography， a book that doesn’t reinvent the wheel but still gives the reader ample insight into its subject。 If this is a book that interests you， you’ve likely read a number of very similar works already， if not in terms of subject， then at least in terms of style and tone。 There are a lot of VERY bad sports bios out there， but rest assured that this is not one of them。 A breezy， fast-moving read that – much like its titular namesake – makes the majority of its shots。 。。。more
Stephanie
，
I grew up in Southern California and was a huge fan of professional basketball， attending games through the 1980s， when the sport’s popularity put ticket prices out of my reach。 I had a secret dream to be a sportswriter， so might be a tiny bit envious of the career of Scott Howard-Cooper， the author of this new biography of Steve Kerr。 Howard-Cooper also grew up in Southern California， and has been a sportswriter at the Los Angeles Times since 1981， covering the NBA since 1988。 Full disclosure: I grew up in Southern California and was a huge fan of professional basketball， attending games through the 1980s， when the sport’s popularity put ticket prices out of my reach。 I had a secret dream to be a sportswriter， so might be a tiny bit envious of the career of Scott Howard-Cooper， the author of this new biography of Steve Kerr。 Howard-Cooper also grew up in Southern California， and has been a sportswriter at the Los Angeles Times since 1981， covering the NBA since 1988。 Full disclosure: I LOVE Steve Kerr。 He isn’t your typical NBA guy: the son of two academics， he was born in Beirut and grew up splitting time between Southern California and the Middle East。 His path to the NBA was fascinating: even as a student， he was a terrific shooter， but was virtually ignored by all major college basketball recruiters， until he was fortunate to get a scholarship to Arizona， where he played under the first of several amazing mentors， Lute Olson。 While at Arizona， his father， who was then the President of American University in Beirut， was the victim of a terrorist assassination。 He had always thought “Bad things happened to other people。 I was immune from anything like that …”After playing alongside Michael Jordan et al in Chicago， where he was coached by another mentor， Phil Jackson。 Over the years， his teammates included Jordan， Shaquille O’Neal， Tim Duncan， and Steve Nash， and coaches included Greg Popovich during Kerr’s time in San Antonio。 After his playing career， he became a coach at Golden State， where he “…would…continue to emphasize the four core values–competition， compassion， mindfulness， and joy…” Over the years， Kerr has won eight NBA titles （five as a player， three as a coach）， and will surely be in the Hall of Fame one day。 Despite serious health problems during the Warriors’ championship years that caused him to take leaves of absence， he kept working: “instead of wanting to get healthy to return to work， he returned to work to get healthy。”Overall， this is one of the best sports biographies I’ve read， and Howard-Cooper has done a terrific job capturing the focus on communication and teamwork that Kerr is known for。 In his acknowledgments， the author notes that he had a “…vision that the story be about a man who had an interesting career but a fascinating life。” I recently read Tall Men， Short Shorts， another NBA-focused book by Leigh Mountville， sportswriter for the Boston Celtics， that focuses on the 1969 Lakers-Celtics championship series but has a wealth of stories about basketball players and coaches。 That one was done primarily from the author’s memory （he admitted that he wishes he’d kept a journal over the years）， while this book is incredibly well researched and documented。 So much so that my Kindle showed I was just 74% through when I got to the Notes。 Steve Kerr–a Life is definitely a must-read for basketball fans， but will be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates a well-written story about an incredible person。 I give it one star for each of Kerr’s rings earned as a player: Five big stars。 Thanks to William Morrow / Custom House and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for this honest review。 And I love Steve Kerr more than ever。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Steve Kerr: A Biography
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Steve Kerr: A Biography&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft