When Steve Kerr joined the Chicago Bulls in 1993, his NBA future was full of uncertainty.
The then-sixth-grade defender signed a non-guaranteed deal and was eager to play with Michael Jordan.
But just as he arrived, something unimaginable happened. Jordan walked out of basketball and played baseball.
Kerr admitted on the Glue Guy Podcast that it unexpectedly turned his career around.
“Yes. So, that's actually my goodness because he opens up a lot of game time,” Kerr said. “It’s not good for the other Bulls and their fan base, but it’s good for me.”
The extra few minutes proved to be what he needed. In Chicago's first season with Chicago, Kerr averaged 8.6 points and 2.6 assists in 82 games, before he made a huge improvement in the game before he arrived.
His game time ranged from 15.5 minutes to 24.8 per game and was surrounded by skilled champions like Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and Bill Cartwright, helping him learn how to win at the highest level.
“And then, of course, Michael came back two years later and we started to win,” Kerr said. “So what I know is that it's much easier to have a great team with good players than a regular team, you know, everyone is in places where people and who are men and all this stuff are confused.
The plugin's role eventually led to Kerr's most famous moment, who won the Bulls' fifth title in seven years after he scored a game-hopping jump shot in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
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