WARRIORS PRACTICE FACILITY, OAKLAND, CA — The Golden State Warriors were gathered in a corner of their practice facility earlier today, watching film as they usually do, when associate head coach Alvin Gentry looked around and said, “Where’s Coach Kerr?”
The players didn’t realize head coach Steve Kerr wasn’t with them. They turned around, to see a smaller version of him decked out in a Chicago Bulls uniform, Number 25, complete with the name “KERR” on the back of the jersey.
It was Warriors production assistant Michael Leslie, who stands a little under six feet tall and is maybe four or five inches shorter than Kerr.
“They were besides themselves, kind of like, ‘What is going here?’ They were laughing. They thought it was really funny,” Leslie said, “They were (at first) super-confused.”
“Michael walked in this morning, upstairs in the offices,” Kerr said, “He walks in, dying laughing and we decided right there, we’ve got to put him out in front of the team.”
The resemblance was impeccable, save for the Adidas shoes — Kerr wore Nikes during his playing days. One look on the Internet might let Leslie off the hook for that one: Kerr’s replica Bulls jerseys are going for as much as $120.
“I found this on eBay,” Leslie said of his Kerr jersey, “It’s a youth large, so beggars can’t be choosers. I was looking for it for a month. I just found it last week, so it really came down to the wire. I thought I was going to have to make one with duct tape.”
Upon arriving at the practice facility for media availability, San Francisco Chronicle writer Rusty Simmons posted a picture of Kerr with Leslie. The tweet has been retweeted or favorited 300 times. There were references to Doogie Howser in replies to Simmons.
Despite the resemblance, Leslie, who was a sophomore in high school when Kerr helped Michael Jordan earn his sixth world championship with the Bulls in the 1998 NBA Finals, is not related to Kerr, or at least we think.
Asked by Simmons if Kerr knew he had a long-lost son, Kerr joked, “You know what, it’s a story I prefer not to — I’m gonna keep this private with my staff, my family, and I know you will respect my privacy.”
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