Steve Kerr joins Dalton Johnson on Dubs Talk and breaks down what it takes to be a role player in the NBA and how important they can be for the Warriors success.
Steve Kerr knows just how difficult it is to be an effective role player off the bench in the NBA.
The Warriors coach played 15 seasons in the NBA, primarily as a point guard off the bench for the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trailblazers.
Kerr started only 30 of his 910 career games on his way to becoming a five-time NBA champion as a player. If there's anyone who knows how to succeed as a role player, it's Kerr.
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In an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Bay Area's Dalton Johnson on the latest episode of "Dubs Talk," Kerr discussed what makes being a role player so difficult.
"There's a lot of things at play," Kerr said. "There's five different people on the floor at one time, so the combinations have to work. As a staff, sometimes like this year it takes a little while to figure out what those combinations are going to look like, but if you are a role player coming off the bench, a guy like Donte [DiVincenzo], he might only get three shots the entire game and there's a lot of pressure when you're a shooter and people expect you to make shots and you only get three or four of them, each one feels way too important.
"You have to find this balance of almost just taking the importance off the shot, removing the outcome and just focusing on the process. That sounds great, but to do it night after night where you're getting judged on your performance by fans and coaches and media takes a lot of mental discipline. So being a role player is not easy."
The Warriors got off to a slow start to begin the 2022-23 NBA season and still are in the process of fine-tuning their rotations behind starters Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney and Sixth Man Jordan Poole.
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However, role players such as DiVincenzo, Jonathan Kuminga, JaMychal Green and Anthony Lamb have begun to settle into roles off the bench for Golden State.
The role players off the bench were a huge reason why the Warriors were able to secure their fourth championship in eight seasons in 2022 and will be vital to Golden State's success this season.
