Steve Kerr has spent large parts of his basketball life next to both Michael Jordan and LeBron James, and that makes him one of the few people who are extremely qualified to speak on the NBA’s greatest-of-all-time debate.
For years, Kerr has leaned towards his former Chicago Bulls teammate. But after coaching LeBron at the 2024 Paris Olympics, his opinion has changed.
Speaking at the Berkeley Forum at the University of California, Berkeley, Kerr said that he can no longer separate the legends.
“So that was an easy answer. A few years ago, it was Michael Jordan. Then I got to coach LeBron James in the Olympics. And since people have their phones on here, this somehow may end up on social media. LeBron won a gold medal, and I got to coach him. He was an amazing guy to coach. I’m gonna say it’s a dead tie.”
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It’s quite a shift from someone who won three NBA championships playing alongside Jordan during the Bulls’ second three-peat from 1996 to 1998.
Kerr saw Jordan’s legendary feats firsthand and has credited his time in Chicago with shaping his own basketball philosophy.
In older interviews, he praised Jordan’s relentless drive, saying that his intensity pushed him and others to raise their level. He has spoken about how Jordan spiritually dominated games and shared stories about how hard it was being teammates with him. Steve Kerr has also said there are similarities between Stephen Curry and Michael Jordan’s leadership styles.
But at the same time, coaching LeBron with Team USA gave him a new perspective.
Kerr had planned against LeBron from the opposite bench for years, meeting him in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018. But having a chance to work with him daily throughout the Olympics changed his view. He has spoken about how intense LeBron James’ workouts were when he played for Team USA and how much he learned while coaching one of the all-time greats. Team USA came away with the gold medal, and Kerr saw the impact of LeBron, who won the Olympics MVP.
Kerr has also praised LeBron’s longevity. Even in his 40s, LeBron has evolved his game rather than just relying on athleticism. His ability to adapt, expand his scoring levels, and maintain elite playmaking makes him one of the best players in the NBA still.
Kerr also missed out on the chance to coach LeBron again, as the Warriors failed to land the four-time champion, who went to the Philadelphia 76ers. Kerr had joked initially during the offseason that the Warriors had landed LeBron already, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
And all these experiences ultimately showed Kerr that comparing Jordan and LeBron isn’t as straightforward as many of us think.
One dominated with unrivalled scoring ability, competitive fire and an obsession to win everything.
The other built his legacy through versatility, basketball IQ, longevity, elite passing and an unmatched genius to dominate multiple eras.
And due to those different styles, Kerr doesn’t think one has to be ranked over the other.
His conclusion is simple. There is no clear winner. For Steve Kerr, basketball has produced two of the greatest players of all time, and the debate ends in a tie between Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
