Steve Kerr knows a thing or two about Michael Jordan, as the two played alongside each other and won multiple titles with the Chicago Bulls.
Kerr has now been tasked with managing another sharpshooter — Stephen Curry — although this time he’s doing it as a head coach. And he recently shared an interesting piece of information about how defenses plan for Curry.
We all know about the Jordan Rules, but Kerr actually believes that Steph is more impactful on opposing defenses than MJ was, as far as game planning and strategy go.
“Even Michael Jordan—people had the Jordan rules—but nothing has ever been as dramatic as what I’ve seen from opponents’ defensive schemes as how they have to deal with Steph,” Kerr said to Tim Kawakami on the TK Show.
The Warriors head coach continued:
“Everything we do is based on Steph,” he said. “From the very beginning of this run, Steph was the guy who started it … I feel like our foundation is built around not only his talent, but his character, his selflessness, his joy, his work ethic.
“Literally our offensive system is built around the chaos that he creates for defenses. I’ve never seen a player who elicited so much of a defensive schematic response because of his ability to shoot from 30 feet and dribble around everybody.”
It’s a great discussion topic, but it’s tough to compare the two players, as they played in different eras. MJ played in an era where defenses were able to play a lot more physical, and probably would’ve attempted 20 free throws a game in today’s NBA.
Still, Steph does a great job of stretching opposing defenses, and his presence on the floor alone creates plenty of open shots for Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. But is he more impactful than MJ? Kerr seems to think so.
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