Steve Kerr Details Crucial Component to Celtics' Title Defense: 'That Really Matters'

Bobby Krivitsky | Aug 7, 2024

Jul 31, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; United States head coach Steve Kerr talks to United States guard Derrick White (8) in the first quarter against South Sudan during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Kerr is intimately familiar with the position the Celtics are in. In the 90s, he helped the Bulls complete the second three-peat of Michael Jordan's career, including burying the game-winning shot to clinch the 1997 NBA championship.

After lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy three times in Chicago, Kerr helped Tim Duncan and the Spurs capture a pair of NBA titles. As head coach of the Warriors, the third dynasty he's been a part of, Kerr's accumulated four more championship rings.

The United States men's basketball team's head coach, who's two wins from his second Olympic gold medal after winning one as an assistant for Team USA at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, shared with Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe a crucial element that will aid the Celtics in their upcoming title defense.

"When you first win it, I think you have a deeper level of confidence," said Kerr. "To me, that first time that you try to repeat is actually a little easier. You do it a couple of times, and you're actually exhausted. You try to do it a third time, a fourth time, you go to the Finals three, four, five times in a row, it's utterly exhausting. But if you win one, you've got a deeper level of confidence than you had before, and I think that really matters to teams."

If Boston, who's commendably committed to keeping its title team almost entirely intact, returning 13 of the 15 players that helped them reach the NBA summit while on standard contracts last season, plus the individuals on two-way deals, JD Davison and Drew Peterson, successfully defends its crown, the Celtics will be the first team to repeat as champions since Kerr's Warriors in 2017 and '18.

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