NBA legend Steve Kerr has always been an eccentric character, and that hasn’t changed over the past decade as the Warriors‘ head coach. In fact, to this day, he still pulls stunts that you don’t typically see for people in his position.
One such stunt is sneaking Taylor Swift lyrics into his post-game press conferences. According to Kerr, who recently spoke with ESPN’s Wright Thompson, he quietly inserted lines from Swift’s song “All Too Well” into postgame media sessions during the 2022-23 season. The reason was for nothing more than his own personal enjoyment.
“Three years ago, to entertain himself in his press conferences, Kerr worked phrases from Taylor Swift’s song ‘All Too Well’ into his interview answers, smoothly enough that nobody noticed,” wrote Thompson. “For instance, to get the first line of the song, he took the podium after beating the Rockets in March of 2023 and said, ‘I walked through the door of the locker room at halftime.’ Over a long season, he got most of the lyrics done, crossing them off as he went. His son Matthew later edited them into a video for their family group chat, so that Kerr appeared to have recited the whole song.”
When the news reached Taylor, she was immediately impressed and asked to share the video online. She doubted it was real at first, but Kerr eventually reached out to confirm its authenticity before asking her to keep it a secret from the public.
“She ended up seeing it through a mutual friend,” he said. “‘Wait, is this real?’ Taylor asked. She thought it was creative and funny. ‘Can I put it on social media?’ she asked. Kerr asked her team to please keep it private, even though he’d pulled the stunt in public night after night.”
As one of the most popular and successful music artists in the world, Taylor Swift’s songs are known by millions, and they are usually instantly recognizable. Kerr, however, was able to slip the lyrics by without anyone suspecting. As a noted Swift fan, he already knew some of her songs, and it wasn’t too hard for him to find opportunities to say a line every so often. By the end of the season, he had enough to make a full compilation video, earning approval from the pop queen herself.
For Kerr, it was just a fun little exercise to keep himself entertained, but it goes to show how different he is compared to other head coaches. He operates on a different wavelength, and it can often make him difficult to understand. In San Francisco, however, the Warriors have benefited greatly from his leadership, including four championships in the Stephen Curry era.
Now, on the cusp of a two-year extension, Kerr is set to return and finish out what’s left of their fading dynasty. He nearly retired after a miserable 2025-26 campaign, but a play-in victory changed his mind, and the stage is now set for the next phase of his coaching tenure. Regarding the future appearance of Taylor Swift lyrics, only Kerr can say for sure what he has planned.
Now that the world knows about his prank, it won’t be as easy to pull off again, but he’ll have bigger things to worry about, anyway. As Stephen Curry approaches the final stage of his career, Kerr must be at the top of his game to maximize the Warriors’ chances. That means putting aside the shenanigans and getting a little bit more serious about the mission at hand.
