During his time playing with the Chicago Bulls, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was punched by teammate Michael Jordan during training camp prior to the 1995-96 season.
But instead of pushing them apart, Kerr believes it actually made them closer on the court.
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“I would say it definitely helped our relationship, and that probably sounds really weird," Kerr said (h/t USA Today’s Scott Gleeson.) "I wouldn't recommend that to anybody at home. ... For me in that case, Michael was definitely testing me, and I responded. I feel like I kind of passed the test and he trusted me more afterwards."
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The two reconciled and both were part of the infamous 1997-1998 Bulls team now being chronicled in ESPN’s “The Last Dance.”
Kerr came to Chicago in 1993, but wasn’t Jordan’s teammate until his return from a brief stint playing professional baseball.
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After that training camp, Kerr, Jordan and the Bulls won 72 games, becoming the most prolific NBA regular-season team until the 2015-16 Warriors came along, coached by Kerr.
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As the coach said back in 2013, he got a few blows in during the altercation but came away with a black eye.
“I knew that if we were in an actual fight he could actually probably kill me if he wanted to,” Kerr told ESPN. “It was more just I’m going to stand up for myself.”
Nothing like a good fist-fight to bring a team together.
