0:04
>> Hi Steve. >> Hi.
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0:06
>> How does it feel hanging out for like 20 minutes still awkward, right?
0:13
How does it feel to be back in front of everyone you're not on Zoom anymore.
0:15
>> Yeah it feels nice we had a game last night in Portland, and it was first time really that we felt a full house with fans.
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Last year at the end of the season we had some fans back in the building but not a full house.
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And last night, you could just feel the energy was like everybody was so excited just to have some semblance of normalcy.
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So this feels good too, it's good to be back with people. >> Yeah.
0:45
Hopefully we'll recreate that energy here tonight during the stock.
0:49
>> Before we dive into the interview, I wanted to share if you do want to show us the bottom half of your face, you have two options.
0:55
Stay hydrated, so lots of water.
1:02
Or option two we've been told as if this was a performance in actually remove your mask.
1:06
If you want to shoot some three pointers for us, let us know.
1:10
>> So I can actually remove this if I perform. >> Absolutely.
1:10
If you shoot your career percentage tonight.
1:15
>> Let's dive in all seriousness.
1:22
>> So the math stays or goes which one? >> I don't see a ball. I don't see a.
1:28
>> Do we have a basketball in the crowd over here somewhere?
1:29
>> Well, I can juggle, maybe a juggle?
1:33
>> Any other performance would also do.
1:33
>> Yeah >> I really know how to do anything else.
1:35
>> We don't want you to put us to shame. To be honest.
1:40
I think that's the real reason we don't have a basketball here.
1:45
But thank you for being here at the GSB we're super excited.
1:49
We think we have a lot to learn from you.
1:49
Not just Steve Kerr, the player, the general manager, the head coach, but also the podcast host, the social commentator. So you want to dive in.
1:59
Let's perhaps start with leadership.
1:59
How would you describe your style of leadership in your own words?
2:05
>> I think I lead my team a little bit like I raised my children.
2:12
My wife and I did that together, and we always sort of gave them a lot of rope.
2:22
But they kind of knew they were responsible for that freedom.
2:22
And so I believe in the same kind of leadership with the team.
2:31
You can tell by the way we play, we we're pretty fast paced, we're risky.
2:37
We shoot a lot of crazy shots especially Steph and Clay.
2:42
>> But I believe that the freedom that they have makes them play more instinctively.
2:52
And that ultimately, when you're coaching a basketball team, the players, it's their team.
2:59
And so you have to give them the team, but give them the blueprint for how it's all going to work.
3:08
And once the culture is set and the ideas said about, what we're trying to accomplish. You kinda let them go.
3:16
And then you just reign them in when you feel like you need to reign them in.
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So I would say that's kinda my style. >> That's your style. I heard freedom.
3:25
I heard risk, but I also had children.
3:26
>> I wanna touch on that.
3:26
Where does that come from?
3:31
And I'm, curious if this is from your own time as a child and your upbringing.
3:37
Where does that start you just described to us. When did you find that?
3:41
>> Probably my own parents.
3:41
I was kind of a strange kid, to be honest with you.
3:48
I was super competitive at a very young age, to the point where it was actually kind of embarrassing for the family.
3:56
>> And I say that only half jokingly but.
4:02
>> Give us an example, what was the embarrassing part?
4:05
>> So like when you have a family Easter egg hunt.
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And I don't find the big prize the golden egg.
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And throw a complete tantrum at the age of five because I didn't find the golden egg.
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That's kind of embarrassing for the parents.
4:19
>> We call that competitive at the GSB. >> But yeah.
4:24
>> So that was kind of for whatever reason, that was the way I was.
4:28
Wired and it carried over to sports and so I think my parents were really interesting.
4:37
They gave me a lot of rope and they somehow knew.
4:37
Like when they'd go to my baseball games by the way back then parents didn't go to every single game.
4:50
>> They just like if it was a Thursday there's no way mom and dad were going.
4:50
Like they might go on Saturday was a little different back then I turn >> So sometimes I throw a complete fit.
5:04
If I got out or in baseball or missed a bunch of shots and whatever.
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I would just throw a complete tantrum and the parents didn't really say anything.
5:17
Until later like at dinner time they'd so they somehow they instinctively knew.
5:23
Just wait until I cooled off a little bit right.
5:23
And I think it was pretty powerful because by the time you cool off it's a lot easier to see what you've actually done right.
5:35
So I had to learn how to kind of tame that competitiveness and channel in the right direction.
5:40
And I think my parents really helped me do that.
5:40
And so I think that probably is in some way, maybe subconsciously, kind of the way I guide my own team.
5:52
>> Right, I wanna touch more on your upbringing and your parents. You were born in Beirut.
5:56
Your father Malcom was also born in there is a lot of movement between Lebanon and Egypt other Mediterranean countries.
6:07
And then Los Angeles where your father was a professor.
6:07
Not many clears or or head coaches have that experience at that age or that point of their career.
6:18
How did that exposure that international culture impact you will have shaped not just the leadership style but your worldview moving forward?
6:25
>> Yeah, it was probably that the best education I received as a child growing up was living overseas.
6:30
We lived in I was born in Beirut.
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As you mentioned, I've lived in Cairo Egypt for about three years.
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When my dad was a visiting professor at the American university there, and we spent time in France and Tunisia.
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And so I had a really good experience in terms of just seeing other cultures that living in other cultures, seeing, especially in Cairo.
6:55
You abject poverty and seeing, how wonderful the people were and yet how little so many of them had.
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And when you're 10, 12 years old, that's really powerful. Especially coming from. Los Angeles.
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Where we were my dad was a professor at UCLA and we spent a lot of time on campus.
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And it's kind of this idyllic scene just like here in Stanford and some of the contrast.
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And it's great perspective for a young person to feel that at a young age.
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And then I think naturally sort of build some empathy but perspective.
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And I try to introduce perspective with our team as often as I can at something Gregg Popovich was amazing with in San Antonio.
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And I think it's really crucial just for all of our players to understand how lucky we are to compete and play basketball for a living.
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And and be able to Come into the gym every day and be together and it's so much fun.
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And most of the world is trying to get by, so we're really incredibly blessed, yeah.
8:13
>> Are there specific stories from that childhood, the time in Cairo, seeing the abject poverty that come to mind that stuck with you that you perhaps have shared with players or colleagues or your staff that you've held on to.
8:25
>> There's an area in Cairo called the City of the Dead, and when I was there, this was in the late 70s, early 80s.
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There were like a million people who lived basically in a cemetery, underneath the cemetery area.
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Obviously a pretty brutal nickname for the place.
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But I remember driving by it, and asking, why is it called the City of the Dead?
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Well, this is a burial ground, and a lot of people are living here because this is the only space they have.
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It's like, how do you reconcile that with life in Pacific Palisades, going to UCLA basketball games and thinking the world was a pretty easy place to be.
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And so that all really stuck with me forever.
9:28
>> Yeah, thanks for sharing that.
9:28
I feel like the way you shared that and that emotion, it's still very alive with you and carry that on.
9:39
You mentioned Gregg Popovich as well, one of, in my opinion at least personally, I'm sure you'll agree, the best leaders out there, and not just coach but leader in the NBA.
9:50
You've worked with him, you've also worked with Phil Jackson at the Bulls.
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When you talk about leadership styles, anything you found from either of those two that you've hung on, and you would like to embody yourself with your team.
10:04
>> Yeah, almost everything that I do is a reflection of either Phil or Pop or Lute Olson.
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But the thing that I really learned as I went is that if you're not authentic to yourself, your players are gonna feel that right away.
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So while the influence is there from all of those guys and definitely a lot of the basketball drill work and the philosophy comes from the people.
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I learned playing, it still has to be my own values that I share with the team every day, because that's gonna be authentic, and they'll feel that authenticity.
10:47
I was really dealt an amazing hand when I got here because most first time coaches take over bad teams, and we already had a good team.
10:58
But the opportunity to coach Steph Curry, and I could go on with a number of players in this conversation.
11:07
But Steph in particular, because I think we share two really crucial values that define our whole team, and that is joy and competitiveness.
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Steph is just a vicious competitor but you wouldn't know it because of the way he looks, and the joy that he plays with.
11:30
But we see the world in a similar way.
11:30
We understand the power of competing for something, but the power of joy within that.
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And so finding that balance every day is kind of the key to what makes our team tick.
11:45
But to be able to coach someone who shares your values like that is just an incredible asset for a coach, for a leader.
11:56
And to have somebody like Steph who's so strong in terms of his own leadership, I've been just incredibly blessed.
12:04
>> Right, you touched on staff and I wanna maybe dive deeper into a part of leadership and that's people management.
12:09
A lot of us here at the GSB, we'll graduate, enter jobs where we perhaps have to manage our direct reports and those beneath us in the org chart, as well as upwards towards our managers, our bosses and so on.
12:29
You've had a similar experience, you have to manage GM, president operations, owners, as well as your own staff, players and so on.
12:35
What framework do you use, what's your mental model when thinking about leveraging authority both upwards, downwards and sideways.
12:48
>> I think just being aware of everybody's challenges and trying to remind yourself on a daily basis that every single person in the organization has challenges, vulnerabilities, strengths, weaknesses.
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We're all trying for the same thing, but it's very natural for there to be blame.
13:14
The front office might sign a player and doesn't turn out.
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Maybe they draft a player and they don't think we're developing the player well, or maybe our coaches are thinking, well, we should have drafted somebody else, all that stuff.
13:30
There's the potential for that every single day, just like in any business right?
13:30
There's so many people, when you get so many people involved, there's potential conflict.
13:36
So I just try to think of, and obviously depending on what's going on with the team.
13:42
I just try to think each day of, who do I need to check in with and maybe it's just a phone call or an email, but maintaining those lines of communication constantly is, like you said, managing in every direction.
14:02
>> Yeah >> It's really crucial. >> Yeah.
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>> And it's a big part of the job.
14:05
>> Right, you mentioned communication there, and I wanna maybe touch on that a little bit more.
14:09
This is specifically around creating a culture that is both diverse and inclusive, so you hear that a lot.
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I wannna focus more on the inclusive part, which is not just having a diverse set of individuals on the team.
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But making them feel like they belong, they have a voice, there is open communication, regardless of where they are in the Org chart.
14:30
I think back in June 2015 NBA finals game 4, you started Andre Iguodala for the first time, and I believe there was a Wall Street Journal article about this.
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That a 28 year old video assistant who was fairly junior on your staff came up with an analysis prompt you to do that.
14:48
Can you tell us more about kind of what that story was, and there was a 3 AM text message also involved in there somewhere.
15:00
What enabled a junior staff member to have an impact which went on to make Andre the finals MVP?
15:06
>> Yeah well, it's one of the things I really learned from Pop playing in San Antonio, he used to say all the time, anybody can have a good idea, it doesn't matter where it comes from.
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Let's explore everything, and if one of you has a thought, bring it up.
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And he would say the same thing to all the coaches, so he was very inclusive there, and I thought that was really powerful.
15:28
And I wanted to create the same sort of culture here, and so that was the way we operated.
15:35
We sort of embraced all ideas, I encouraged everybody, all the coaches to talk during meetings and if they had something to say, to try to get it out of them.
15:46
And same thing in the huddles, take a timeout.
15:51
We might see something as a coaching staff, and the players might feel differently, and so sometimes they'll say in the timeout hey, I'm thinking we should do this, what do you guys think?
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And usually, it's Draymond who says, no, we should do something different.
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>> And the Draymond was really smart, and he's the one who's out there.
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So a lot of times like, all right, if you guys feel strongly about that, let's do that.
16:10
So I think, but to do that, you have to be comfortable in your own skin.
16:16
You have to embrace I think a really crucial aspect of leadership, which is that you actually will come across stronger to the people you're leading, if you show that you don't have all the answers, right?
16:39
I think sometimes leaders feel like, my gosh, I've gotta have all the answers, otherwise they're not gonna respect me.
16:44
I think it's sort of the opposite as long as long as they know you're putting in the work and that what you're talking about.
16:52
Because what we're doing is more art than science.
16:56
It's a basketball game, so there's no perfect answer for anything.
16:56
So if you can be collaborative and sometimes allow the players to make a decision or the video coordinator or there shouldn't be any hesitation to do that as long as you don't blame that person, if it doesn't work.
17:19
You gotta own on the decision afterwards and whatever it is, and give credit if that credit is due.
17:26
But if you just do that and it comes naturally and you feel comfortable with that, so really powerful force because then the players take ownership.
17:33
But doing that while maintaining you're the person in charge ultimately is kinda the balance that we're all looking for, yeah.
17:52
>> Yeah, I see a lot of similarities with what you said earlier about leadership is giving that freedom that rope.
17:56
Allowing them to feel like they're part of the process and they have ownership and then actually being the decision maker with all the inputs yourself.
18:07
Perhaps you know more specifically on people management.
18:11
There was a situation I believe back in November 2018.
18:16
The Warriors are playing the Clippers Down in LA, nationally televised claim.
18:16
There was a confrontation on television between Kevin Durant and Graymont Green to after superstars.
18:27
When you had to deal with that situation, that confrontation, what learnings from your past experiences, you mentioned Popovich a couple of times and others?
18:36
What did you lean on in that model to defuse that situation and move on from that situation, which was potentially a pretty difficult confrontation that I just started?
18:44
>> Yeah, that one was a tough one that's I had never experienced anything like that.
18:48
We're two players got into it in a game like that.
18:54
So I think that's more instinct than anything.
18:54
I think as a leader as a coach you have to have kinda non negotiables you have players need to know what line can be crossed, what what line can't be crossed.
19:07
And just felt like that was too much and Bob Meyers and I got together and I handled it the way we thought was best there was no easy answer.
19:24
And we just tried to do the best we could with it, but it was very difficult and, obviously when you're doing it with the public staring at you and knowing everything that's at stake.
19:34
It's not an easy position to be in, but it's gonna happen.
19:41
When you're in a leadership position here, there are very difficult decisions to make and you just kind of have to do what you think is best, I think and what's right, yeah.
19:50
>> And like you said in your career over many decades, that was the first time you had even come across that.
19:55
So there's always a curveball around the corner there's always a first time for any situation.
20:00
I'm sure you've learned a lot from that.
20:00
What have you taken away and kinda what's stuck with you going forward now, almost three years on, how is that incident and dealing with that net new scenario Changed your opinion or style and people management.
20:18
>> Well, how many people here are gonna tweet about it if I answer it like with- >> Yeah, keep your hands down, yeah.
20:23
>> This is part of modern life that's really difficult, it's harder and harder to live a public life and really open up and share things that happen because all of a sudden things come right back around.
20:47
And so that's one that was very difficult to deal with.
20:47
And obviously Draymond brought it up a couple of months back and then it started all over again.
20:53
So, not my favorite topic to discuss.
20:53
So, >> Great, can we talk about the championship- >> Great, yeah, let's talk about that.
21:12
>> And hopefully another one coming up next year, in terms of China, yeah.
21:23
I wanna dive into perhaps the decision making, Steve.
21:23
And perhaps I wanna go back to a couple of different scenarios and just, if you could share with us your thought process or how you came to those conclusions decision, I think that would be helpful.
21:38
The first one was fairly early on in your time at the Warriors.
21:42
I believe there was a potential trade for Kevin Love, who was just coming off a stellar year with Klay Thompson who at the time was still fairly young in his NBA career.
21:55
I believe you were very much for clay staying on the team and not having that trade.
21:59
And of course, as they say the rest is history.
21:59
It's been an all star and won three titles.
21:59
What gave you conviction in that moment?
22:04
That thing and supporting a fairly unknown or unproven player versus more of a genuine kind of proven expert >> I think that I've been in the NBA now in some capacity for 33 years and one of the things I've learned is the only thing you can be sure of is what's already been proven on the court.
22:27
Any any time you decide to draft someone or trade for someone, if there's no history of there's no proof that it's going to work, you're really taking a chance.
22:35
And so when I became the Warriors coach, the undisputed truth was that the Warriors had the fourth best defense in the league with Klay Thompson guarding a lot of the point guards that are out there.
22:53
And it'd become a really pick and roll dominant game at that by that point now it's even more so.
23:00
And you've got Clay and Steph and from a basketball standpoint.
23:00
You'd like to be able to protect Steph coz he's gonna have to handle the ball so much maybe put Clay on the point guard.
23:10
I mean and it already worked.
23:10
And so, our thinking was we know the warriors have a great defense already.
23:16
So if we can improve the offense a little bit and we thought we could watching the tape we thought a lot of young guys who, with some more seasoning could generate better shots and it was all right there.
23:33
Whereas you make a big deal even if it's for a great player. You just don't know.
23:33
And so I think in those cases you're wise to stick with what you do know, if what you do know is really positive which was right.
23:48
>> And will vary that the training of that in that talent that conviction come from, was it just seemed clear and stuff in the prior seasons and the shooter rounds in the trainings?
24:01
Or was there something else in your experiences that made you believe that.
24:01
No, this can come true, let's just give it some more time and actually see this from here?
24:09
>> Yeah, these guys were pretty young at the time and were already really proficient really.
24:16
Steph was already an all star, Clay hadn't been one yet but you could see the potential.
24:23
And they were in the playoffs for two years, they weren't great. This is a great team.
24:29
I inherited a team that was the 150 games that have been the playoffs the previous couple years.
24:36
The previous staff under Mark Jackson, had done a great job establishing a defense.
24:39
The Warriors hadn't had a defense in literally like 30 years.
24:45
So, I mean it was they were the team that just scored 125 points and usually the other team scored 127 >> And that was kind of, they were fun to watch, but they weren't going anywhere.
24:56
And so it was established under Mark that they were gonna become a great defensive team.
25:02
And the front office did a really good job putting the pieces together.
25:02
So, when we got here, when my stuff got here, we were like this is real, we could win the whole thing.
25:14
And that's why ultimately we decided to stay the course.
25:14
And Bob, it's always Bob's decision and Bob was right with me, in terms of seeing where we can go.
25:28
Because we already had a really good start with the momentum, they had built the previous couple of years.
25:31
>> You mentioned inheriting a good team and it was your first season as a head coach at the NBA level.
25:39
And you win their first title in 40 years I believe.
25:44
The next year you win 73 regular season games, you brake your own team 72 and then retro doubles.
25:52
A lot of people you are also potentially will experience fairly rapid rises to success almost overnight success.
25:55
What if anything changes Steve, in your approach to management and just kind of how you approach your day to day at the job.
26:09
When you've now gone from, a challenger to now at the top of that throne and to being that champion.
26:15
>> Really nothing, nothing changed.
26:15
It was, I think the routine of making sure we're staying locked in on the goals that we had.
26:25
Trying to improve on certain keys that we thought would take us to the next step.
26:35
And so, I think the whole idea with anything is to build a culture.
26:35
Kinda an atmosphere that the players are gonna feel whether you're winning or you're losing.
26:48
And the whole point is to help the players get better and help them have the best possible careers they can have.
27:00
And so, that's true whether you're winning championships or you have the worst record in the league.
27:03
The goal still is the same thing, right?
27:03
So as long as you're generating that feeling in the gym each day.
27:07
Then you have to be comfortable with the criticism that's gonna come your way when you're losing, because that's all part of it.
27:22
And it's just part of the territory, right.
27:22
>> And how do you think about managing, perhaps the pressure and kind of the magnifying glass that comes with being at that job?
27:37
And you said the criticism, the blame.
27:37
You mentioned nothing changes day to day, but as we draw from, students into the post graduation real world.
27:48
How do we think about using overnight success more tangibly and thinking about our next steps in a way that perhaps.
27:59
We were previously not exposed to and we were not at that top and not in that limelight.
28:03
>> Well, first of all, I think life is more difficult now, than it's ever been for all of us.
28:13
Whether you're in a position of leadership or if you're a young person trying to figure out what you're gonna do.
28:17
Just the nature of life now with constant criticism and judgement that we all have at our fingertips.
28:26
That's so difficult to avoid.
28:26
I know when I played, literally if you wanted to avoid any of the chatter, you just didn't pick up the morning paper, you know.
28:39
And I had an experience in Chicago, I was trying out for the Bulls and I had a non guaranteed contract.
28:47
And I was just trying to make the team.
28:47
And I was playing great and I decided to pick up the paper one day, thinking maybe they're gonna say some nice about me.
28:58
Like pick it up and you can probably guess where the story is going.
28:58
The writer says well, the Bulls are gonna make the next couple of days.
29:03
And Steve Kerr's probably gonna get cut and so and so is probably get cut.
29:09
And I was crushed, I was like what is he talking about, I'm playing so well.
29:14
The next day of practice I was terrible and so I think about that story sometimes, because now it's like times 1000 for everybody.
29:20
Whether you're trying out for an NBA team or just trying to get through high school.
29:31
Hearing all the judgment and the criticism and it's brutal, so do you navigate that. How do you avoid that.
29:38
And so, finding balance what I've found with our players is the guys who have the most balance in their life.
29:45
Are the ones who handle all this stuff the best.
29:51
Work life balance is just crucial, the days of coaches sleeping in their office all night.
30:03
Maybe there are still coaches out there doing it, probably in the NFL. I think that's their.
30:08
>> That's their thing, but it's just insane.
30:08
I think you have to have a life.
30:14
You have to have balance.
30:14
Steph is a great example. He loves life. He loves his family.
30:19
He loves playing golf, he loves being with his kids and being at home for dinner, and every day is a gift to him.
30:26
And so, he takes plenty of heat, he takes plenty of criticism, but he's able to manage it and navigate it.
30:37
And we've had a lot of players who haven't been able to, because their lives aren't as balanced.
30:42
And so, I guess that's my advice is to really seek balance.
30:42
That work life relationship balance and I find it through, I do a lot of yoga, I like to read.
30:51
I find if I can get into a good book, I'm just kinda in a better frame of mind each day.
31:03
And I like to cook, just cooking a meal at home and fall, I'm not a chef but if I can find a good recipe.
31:11
And just go buy the ingredients and cook and have a game on in the background and have a beer like, that's a great day. >> That sounds fun.
31:19
>> Yeah, but that helps me when people say, why the hell doesn't Curry run more pick and roll for Curry.
31:27
>> I can just cook a meal and have a beer.
31:27
>> Yeah, that must be nice.
31:34
>> Like you said, not all your players have that balance.
31:39
You mentioned Steff and he does that.
31:39
What is your role as a head coach, is it a nudge in the right direction?
31:47
Is it more explicit than that?
31:47
How do you want to kind of chorale as many of your of your roster towards that, because you've clearly seen the benefits of that balance. How do you do that?
32:02
>> Yeah, that's a great question.
32:03
I think that's one area where perspective comes in reminding players, just how fortunate we are.
32:13
And you can do that in a variety of ways, bringing in guest speakers.
32:18
We were very lucky because people want to come speak to the Warriors.
32:23
And so we're able to get a lot of really interesting people to come in.
32:23
And we've had like Michael Lewis came in, the author came in to speak to our team. We had Dr.
32:37
Dre and Jimmy Ivien came in and did give a presentation on their company on beats.
32:45
We've had Alicia Keys and she came in and talked about her process of writing a song and writing music.
32:54
We've had Tommy Smith, the sprinter from the 1968 Olympics who held up his fist for racial equality. >> Right?
33:04
>> Some incredible guests and so trying to present something to the players that is not just, here's how we're guarding, pick and roll.
33:13
It's like this is- >> This is life.
33:15
>> This is life right, and then beyond that we try to offer them as much assistance as we can terms of, we have a mindfulness coach to help them with meditation.
33:22
We'll do some of that as a team.
33:30
And then there's, they'll have private sessions where we try to help people to get comfortable, learning how to perform under all these judgment we all live under. >> Right, yeah.
33:44
And perhaps this is judgment.
33:44
Sometimes I see a double standard for the athletes and the people under that spotlight versus the rest of us who are in a more of an office nine to five job.
33:59
For example, a lot of tech companies during the bay area, have unlimited paid time off.
34:06
You have unlimited vacation days and so on.
34:09
When that sale Lebron James does it, it's called load management if he misses the primetime dream.
34:15
People are upset their television rights and sponsors and so on Is that fair?
34:15
Is that a double standard that we have as a society between our athletes and everyone else?
34:26
>> Yeah, but that's part of the deal.
34:26
We tried to talk to our team every year about what the NBA is about.
34:31
When you're playing in the NBA you're gonna get booed, you're gonna get criticized, you're gonna get injured, you're gonna get cut, you're gonna get traded.
34:44
But if you can navigate it well, it's an amazing job and you're gonna to make a lot of money.
34:50
And you're gonna to have some great experiences and you get to play basketball for a living and this is the trade off so you got to understand that right away.
34:54
I once had I won't name this teammate but when I was late in my career I was playing for the Blazers.
35:07
And one of our rookies, on that team would sit with me and another veteran player guy named Chris Dudley.
35:14
And the coach Maurice Cheeks was a coach.
35:14
I think he wanted this rookie to sit said with us and so we could share our wisdom we were both getting ready to retire we'd been in the league a long time.
35:26
And this player, first week of the season he says he's, exhausted.
35:26
It's been a month of training camp and games and we're maybe maybe a month into the season.
35:33
He says, hey guys, I have a question, so, what time is it?
35:39
And he says, how much time do we get off for Christmas? >> Are we okay?
35:43
Chris and I kind of look to each other.
35:43
We're like, boy, this is gonna be a long year. >> He's about to learn.
35:51
>> We don't have any time.
35:51
>> And he was, you can see who's heartbroken.
35:56
He said, we don't get any time off at al And like no and it turned out the coach actually made him go home for a couple of days he was so homesick.
36:06
And but you kinda have to know what you're getting into.
36:06
And one of the problems right now with the league it's not a problem it's one is more of an issue that players are coming in at a younger and younger age.
36:18
We just drafted two guys in the lottery who are,19.
36:26
They each spent one year after high school, and here they are.
36:28
And 25 years ago it was guys like Tim Duncan and Patrick Ewing were playing four years in college and- >> Right.
36:35
Doing what you do in college growing up >> Right.
36:40
>> So to have to grow up in the NBA at 19 and not really knowing anything is very difficult so we got to try to do the best we can, right?
36:54
I wanna move on to perhaps some of the work you did last year while the world was in lockdown on you had a podcast 12 flying coach, I believe Pete Carroll.
37:06
And there was a specific episode.
37:06
I believe that was June, early June when you had Brad Popovich as a guest and this was right after the George Floyd murders.
37:17
And you described your thoughts on that issue.
37:17
You described how a player of yours I believe Andre Iguodala had to tell you about the Tulsa riots.
37:30
Despite you having been a student of American history in both high school and college.
37:34
And I think the words used to describe the moment was an absence of leadership in our nation as a disease this is very much issue with specifically the white population.
37:47
About a year and a half on Steve, what are your thoughts on those topics today?
37:47
How will we change, how will we improved, if at all?
37:53
>> Yeah, it's so hard because we're being held back by the political division that exists >> What Andre asked me, you know, he said, have you ever did you ever hear the Tulsa race riots I said, no, this was a year and a half ago.
38:13
Since that time a lot has come out.
38:13
There's been documentaries, but my point at the time was I took several years of American history and never heard one word about that.
38:23
Our curriculum and high school and college when it came to African-American history was mainly Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King.
38:36
And these figures who we celebrated for good reason but we didn't flip it around.
38:40
We didn't we never said, okay.
38:47
Why was it that Jackie Robinson wasn't allowed to play in the big leagues?
38:47
Why weren't black people allowed to play in the big leagues before that?
38:51
We didn't ever really explore that in school right?
38:56
And so now there's this movement a year ago and I think everybody, who's involved in this movement, the whole point is we need to reconcile some of our sins, right?
39:11
Our original sin especially, we needed to exact, we can't just ignore it, which is what we've done.
39:18
Because you see how it's manifested itself in so many ways.
39:26
George Floyd's murder being an easy example and a terrible example.
39:31
But I think the point is, what's happened now is so you immediately get this conversation on critical race theory.
39:38
Which is just nothing more than a fancy way of saying, hey, let's teach real African-American history to our kids.
39:49
And is, it seems so simple, right?
39:49
It's like, yeah, that that would be really good because then maybe kids could grow up and learn That, racism is really bad and teach them at a very young age, right?
40:03
Because it's clearly something that is sort of taught.
40:03
And yet all of a sudden that become, the argument is, well, we don't wanna teach our kids that they're bad and they're bad people.
40:14
Nobody is suggesting that, but this is how every issue that we have in this country now becomes.
40:20
It just, it's like this and it's all for political gain.
40:20
And it's, really demoralizing.
40:26
And it's, just another example of how we're sort of flailing right now as a country and trying to get our shit together.
40:41
>> Yeah, unfortunately I mean while the politics of it play a massive role in, would need all of our lives a lot easier.
40:47
What can we as individuals, perhaps do on an individual level in our communities with the people around us.
40:54
I know you've shared a little bit about this earlier, but you can tell us more about how you've had perhaps those uncomfortable conversations with your team, with your family in your community.
41:08
>> Well, I think number one, we need to educate ourselves the best we can, whether that's through our own reading or just extending ourselves and in a way that we haven't done before.
41:24
Bryan Stevenson is another incredible guest speaker, we had the civil rights lawyer.
41:32
And he talks about proximity, and he said proximity is so important.
41:38
And we asked him what do you mean by proximity, through proximity to the people that you're trying to help, right? Boots on the ground.
41:43
If you really want to make an impact, actually being proximate to people you're trying to help, being in the community in some form of a grassroots organization movement.
42:06
What can you do that actually is going to not just make an impact, but make you feel it, make you feel what's actually happening?
42:14
And I think that's what the NBA has really tried to do every.
42:14
Every team now is connected with a local grassroots organization that is trying to improve the lives of people in the inner city and trying to do positive things in terms of racial relations.
42:37
So I think that's the challenge is how do we actually feel it and be proximate to it. >> I love that.
42:42
I had not heard that analogy with proximity before, but I think being present and as close to the source of it definitely makes a difference.
42:52
You're stepping back, Steve, you know, the George Floyd murder and racial injustice was just one issue of many injustices that are happening around the world.
43:05
And some are captured by the media, some are not.
43:05
How do you as a leader and as a person with a platform, decide when to speak up on an issue and an injustice versus whether to not do so?
43:12
And we too will most likely be in the situations in the business world where there's a lot happening out there with our employees, our staff, our community.
43:29
What's the framework we can use?
43:29
How can we think about what to, when do we lean in, when do we, when do we not?
43:33
>> That's a great question.
43:33
I think what I've realized is to narrow down my focus to the things that I'm really passionate about and informed about.
43:46
It's really difficult to go down the path of, I wanna be an activist and start talking about something you really don't know whole lot about.
43:57
Those issues are better to sit out.
43:57
And so for me, the issues that I'm most interested in, that have really been the biggest dynamics in my own life are gun violence, and racial equality.
44:12
I lost my dad to gun violence when I was 18, he was 52.
44:12
And so gun violence is something that is, it affects me deeply, and my family.
44:20
And so I've spent a lot of time with a lot of the different gun violence groups, gun violence prevention groups, whether it's Sandy Hook or the Brady Foundation, Gifford's.
44:40
Much for our lives, I've done fundraising, but I've also learned a lot.
44:40
And so I feel much more comfortable speaking out about those things.
44:46
And then the racial justice, it's just I'm living every day with a group of people whose lives are directly impacted and whose families are directly impacted by the injustice that exists.
45:06
And so it's really easy for me to feel passionate and connected to those things.
45:14
>> It's always gonna be a personal choice, but using the idea of being informed and educated on those topics is a good starting way of deciding when to lean into those issues.
45:26
>> Yeah, I mean, I think that's sort of personal choice too.
45:31
I mean, I've been pretty passionate about those issues for a long time but I just leaned into them maybe five, six years ago.
45:38
I think I've told this story before, but I think it might have been the 2016 finals.
45:42
Maybe it was the conference finals, but we had our third moment of silence in as many weeks.
45:55
This was the Pulse nightclub massacre- >> In Orlando. >> Yeah, in Orlando.
45:58
We were having this huge game and we haven't yet another moment of silence and it's like, so what are we just gonna keep doing this?
46:06
We're just, you know, like it's great, let's honor the victims and their families, but maybe we should, excuse my language maybe we should effing do something about it, right-? >> Yep, absolutely.
46:22
>> And it's just, it's infuriating.
46:25
And I finally just had enough and I decided just sort of apropos of nothing.
46:25
I was doing a podcast, local podcast with Tim Kawakami, about basketball and I just I brought it up.
46:33
And took a lot of body heat for it, from gun rights activists and learned a lot, but he was scared.
46:49
It felt good and it would be sort of, got my, I dove in and I started to get my bearings and started to realize where I could actually make an impact. >> Yeah.
46:58
Thanks for sharing that I did not know about that 2016 finals and the podcast so, that was inspiring.
47:07
Before we open it up to Q&A wanted to ask a question which we plan to ask all of our speakers this year for you from the top.
47:13
Our theme Steve ,is beyond expectations.
47:13
You've certainly in the stories you've shared right now gone beyond the expectations set forth by society for a NBA player, a GM, a head coach.
47:30
If you were to perhaps just summarize what inspires you, what motivates you to grow beyond just those expectations, what would you say?
47:36
>> I think what I love about coaching and what inspires me is this feeling of generating joy and happiness as a group.
47:48
It gives me chills just thinking about a team.
47:57
It's connected and playing well and laughing and really excited about this year we added our first exhibition game last night.
48:03
And you know this term but sometimes you just feel it and sometimes you don't like and, like, last night I'm watching our game and I just had chills, this group is connected we're gonna have a really fun season.
48:21
And that's what keeps me coming to work every day and wanting to really succeed is that feeling of momentum when something when you just grasp something then you can feel it and it starts to grow.
48:34
And you're just trying to feed it and so many people are interested in it and and enjoying it as well.
48:46
And so when our team plays well and the community gets involved and all of a sudden everybody's excited.
48:49
That's the best feeling there is for me. That's great.
48:55
>> And as a Warriors fan, you getting chills on the first preseason games that is it exciting.
48:59
It bodes well for our season, and I'm excited for that.
49:05
Great, let's open it up to questions.
49:05
I think we have the first one right over there.
49:11
You could just introduce yourself, please.
49:11
>> Hey, Stephen, first of all, thank you very much for being with us tonight. I'm class of 2023.
49:16
I'm managing all them from Argentina.
49:25
I wanted to draw it back in time to 1997, game six against the against Stockton.
49:34
You call it time out, 25 seconds left on the clock. What were you thinking?
49:38
And how did you manage- >> How did you manage to convince Michael Jordan?
49:47
When you went into the huddle, you look him in the eyes and shouted, if you needed if it comes up I will be ready/.
49:55
>> You might have heard this.
49:55
>> I planted this question. >> Yeah.
50:06
>> You just told the story. So that was yeah.
50:11
That was the moment that every kid dreams of when you're shooting in your driveway or at school or whatever and you count down the seconds and NBA championship on the line and so to actually live that was incredible.
50:30
When you're a kid when you miss you just pretend that you got fouled and now you go to the free throw line and you shoot two free throws.
50:35
And but when it's happening, you can't quite have that luxury.
50:42
But it was it was a moment that I think it took me a long time to get to the point where I could actually succeed in a situation like that.
50:55
I was very self-conscious when I started playing in the NBA and I didn't really feel clutch I felt like I was thinking too much.
51:01
And so I learned a lot especially from Michael Jordan who took game winning shots almost every week and missed plenty of them.
51:13
>> And didn't seem to bother him that much and there was a great lesson in there that, you got to go for it and you got to be able to live with the failure if you don't.
51:25
But the best way to succeed is without considering the failure just playing, just going and getting out of your own head.
51:37
And so that was a moment for me that was probably years in the making.
51:37
And so obviously great moment and something I'll have forever. >> Next question. Get one back there.
51:50
>> Steve, thanks so much for speaking with us today. My name is Tejas.
51:53
I'm a first year MBA student here.
51:58
And my question today is about building championship culture.
51:58
This is tough for me to say as a lifelong Cleveland Cavaliers fan, but if you could take us back to 2015, what were your top priorities and values that you sought to instill in the organization?
52:13
And who did you work with and lean on to help build these values and priorities? >> Yeah.
52:15
Thank you for the question.
52:15
And congratulations on the 2016 champion.
52:21
>> So when I became a coach, I spent a lot of time preparing to coach but I didn't become a coach until I was 49.
52:36
So I had, I did some television work after I was done playing and I spent a lot of time preparing and I talked to a lot of coaches.
52:45
And one of the guys who really made an impact on me was Pete Carroll and I went to CP in Seattle.
52:51
I love the way his team is played.
52:55
And I sat down with him and Pete just said, after we had spent a couple of days together, and I was watching practice.
53:02
And he sat down in his office and he said, so how are you gonna coach your team?
53:08
I said, you mean like, what offense are we gonna run?
53:08
He said, Now that stuff doesn't even matter and I just spent like a year trying to figure out what our offense was gonna look like.
53:19
He said really that you'll that stuff you'll figure out he said it's the, what's it gonna feel like for the players and the coaches to come into the gym every day?
53:27
And what's your culture gonna be like?
53:27
And I suppose I had never really thought of it in those terms, but I knew playing fulfill and pop they had built these amazing cultures.
53:33
But Pete really sort of clarified and he told me the story of how he sort of figured out how to incorporate a culture.
53:52
And he asked me to go home and think of the four values that were the most important values in my life.
53:59
And that my job as a coach was once I figured out what those values were, was to make those values come alive every day and that the players would feel that authenticity of my values.
54:13
And so Pete was the guy who sort of laid it out there and it was really fascinating.
54:22
Joy and competition were two of them.
54:22
Mindfulness was another one.
54:22
Everything that we did was built on competing and joy and mindfulness and compassion was the fourth one.
54:38
So everything we did and the way we treated the team was based on those values.
54:45
We incorporated a ton of joy into our practice sessions.
54:45
We competed at everything.
54:49
We kept score of everything.
54:49
We treated our players with great compassion, but making those values come alive to me was the lesson of this is what it means to build a culture.
55:00
>> We have time for one last one over there, you wrap up.
55:15
>> Hi, this is Ariel Ramirez NBA 23 from Mexico.
55:15
So my question is regarding how you experience different choices a player as a coach.
55:24
I practices part competitively and one of my greatest fears has been retirement because I feel that it is a great part of my identity that I'm gonna lose.
55:36
What has been your favorite part of coaching and how do you compare the feeling of winning a championship as a player and as a coach?
55:40
>> Yeah, a great question.
55:40
I think as a as a player, you're very locked down on your own game, your own routine and as a coach, you're thinking about everybody else and, You're trying to help everyone.
56:00
So actually I've found winning the championship as a coach was even more gratifying than as a player because you've put in all this energy into the whole group and you see how happy everyone in the organization is.
56:15
And when you're a player it's an amazing feeling too, especially with your teammates.
56:20
But it's more insular, it's more you're just locked in on your own routine day after day, and coaching is, you feel responsible for everyone. >> That's great.
56:29
Thanks for answering those, Steve.
56:36
We are almost done, before we let you go we want to do a quick lightning round. >> Okay.
56:40
>> I'll mention a couple of words or phrases and just you pick one of them. Ready? >> Yep.
56:48
>> Okay, Space Jam 1 or Space Jam 2? >> One.
56:54
>> One, okay, so does that mean Jordan over LeBron or is that not?
56:58
>> Just an indictment on their acting, not as players, just as actors.
57:04
>> I didn't see Space Jam 2, so. >> So there we go. Messi or Ronaldo? >> Messi.
57:13
>> There's my Argentinian guy right there. >> There you go. What's your team? What's- >> Liverpool. >> Liverpool.
57:24
>> You have some Liverpool in here as well. Roger Federer? >> Roger Federer. >> Roger Federer, okay. >> Crowd pleaser.
57:35
Better dressed team, 1996 Bulls or 2017 Warriors? >> Do coaches count?
57:50
>> You were a player one and a coach on the other.
57:50
>> Yeah, 2017 Warriors cuz I was a player on the 96 Bulls and I brought the level down.
58:00
>> You brought them down. >> That's fair.
58:03
>> Best city for food in the NBA?
58:03
>> Ooh, Chicago >> Great, and last one, losing game seven of the NBA finals to LeBron James at home on Father's Day or getting punched in the face by Michael Jordan?
58:24
>> That's quite a way to finish tonight.
58:33
>> Really uplifting there. >> Yeah, thank you.
58:38
>> Anyway, I don't know if you know this, but I actually went at- >> Yep.
58:44
>> Michael and I actually hit him in the fist with my jaw.
58:48
>> We have an answer, that's an answer.
58:53
>> I think that was a winner, but that was a lot of fun.
59:17
>> I get an ovation for getting punched.
59:17
>> I'm not sure I understand, but we'll go with it. >> Thanks for your time.
59:22
I think we learned a lot.
59:27
We really appreciate this, Steve.
59:27
I think you've left us with lessons on mindfulness, on authenticity, on proximity that I think we all can take with us as we graduate and move on to the GSB.
59:40
I wanna wish you, your family, the team, the best of health and good luck for the season, and go Warriors. >> All right, thank you.
59:44
Thank you, appreciate it.