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NBA FINALS: CLEVELAND VS GOLDEN STATE

June 12, 2017

Steve Kerr

Oakland, California: Postgame

Warriors - 129, Cavaliers - 120

COACH KERR: Before I take questions, I just want to say congratulations to Cleveland. That's a championship team and an amazing group of players, and it's a hell of a series. Five games didn't do it justice, just for how competitive it was. There were times where I was just stunned looking at the talent on the floor between both teams.

As I said, they're a championship group. We have so much respect for their players, for Coach Lue and his staff. Incredible basketball, incredible high-level basketball out there.

So congrats to them on a great season. Obviously we were heartbroken last year, but this year was our turn. And we're obviously quite happy, if you couldn't tell by my wet hair. So who wants to start?

Q. For all the scrutiny months and months ago that you had two stars who couldn't -- wouldn't be able to co-exist and how was everybody going to get enough shots, and how special was it to see those guys celebrating like that and smiling and dancing out there, and also for you personally?
COACH KERR: I'm not sure there was really that much of a story about our guys not being able to co-exist. I think there's just a lot of space to fill. I mean, come on, you got a bunch of guys who are talented and can shoot and pass and dribble, and they're unselfish. There was never any question in my mind that this was going to work.

So, this is the culmination of a year where they grew together and learned each other's games and got better and better all year, and it was just phenomenal to be part of.

Q. I know you never want it to be about yourself, but couldn't help see you crying there after the game. Maybe not details, but what is going through your mind? Is it what you had to go through this season? Is that part of the emotion that you were feeling right then?
COACH KERR: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Winning is -- winning is fantastic. I've been so lucky to be part of so many championship teams as a player and now as a coach, and it never gets old. But tonight was a little different, just based on the things I've had to go through during this time.

Q. I know it's in front of their home crowd and that's different, but did your guys seem more emotional? Steph, Draymond? I know they were emotional in 2015, but did it seem to have even more power this time?
COACH KERR: It's hard to compare. Winning a championship is so hard, and when you do it, you just you get nine months of all this work and you can finally let loose.

So, I wouldn't compare it to two years ago because it was equally as exciting back then, but it's just -- there's nothing like it. No feeling like it.

Q. Kevin went through a lot this year. He was vilified, he was called all sorts of names, soft and all sorts of things. To see him perform in this series and to come away with the MVP, what do you think that means? What does it mean to you, the team?
COACH KERR: Well, you can ask him, he's right there (laughter) but....

Q. What about for you?
COACH KERR: For me? I'm just so happy for Kevin. I'm happy for all of our guys. It's interesting, when you look at championship teams, each player kind of has their own story, you got a rookie like Patrick McCaw who comes in and plays in a Game 7, makes an impact. And his story is so different from Steph's and Klay's. But Kevin has a very unique story, you just mentioned that. I'm just happy for him. He's had an amazing career, but he just took it to the next level. He was incredible all season long. He had an amazing series, just dominated.

Everybody for the last 10 years knew how good he was, but until you break through and win that first championship, there is still -- there's always still something there. I'm just so happy Kevin has broken through, and there's more to come from him.

Q. Cavs were up much of the first quarter and into the second, I think they were up six maybe halfway through the second quarter and suddenly you guys go on 22-2 run over four and a half minutes. I know K.D. got half of those points, but what happened?
COACH KERR: I think it was a typical closeout game. I've been lucky to be part of seven of these, actually, five as a player and two now as a coach. Seems like every closeout game is just difficult. You're nervous, you got all this energy, it's usually not pretty from the beginning.

I think our guys just did a good job of hanging in there. We kept the lead at six, eight points -- or the deficit. And it was just a matter of time before we were going to break through. We had that huge run in the second quarter, which changed everything.

Q. Again, that run, and then a -- what was a 24-13 to wrap it up in the fourth, and K.D. gets 11 of those, too.
COACH KERR: Yeah, I was just blown away, as I mentioned earlier, about the talent on the floor for both teams, the shot making. And the game has changed so much in terms of the spacing and the shooting, and you're looking out there and you're like, how are we going to stop anybody? I'm sure Ty was saying the same thing.

But we have an amazing group of talented players, skilled guys, who came up big when it counted and pulled away in the fourth quarter.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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