According to Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report on Friday, the Golden State Warriors have named Steve Kerr of Beirut, Lebanon the highest paid head coach in National Basketball Association history. Kerr signed a two-year contract worth $35 million.
Kerr has had incredible success coaching the Warriors over the last decade. He has a regular season record of 502 wins and 264 losses for a winning percentage of .655 in 766 games. In the playoffs, Kerr won the NBA Finals in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022. In 2015, 2017 and 2018, the Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, and in 2022, the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
Kerr actually has a better winning percentage in the playoffs than the regular season. In the postseason, the Warriors have a record of 99 wins and 41 losses for a winning percentage of .707 with Kerr in charge. When the Warriors won the 2017 NBA Finals, they only lost once in 17 games. After sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference playoff series, the Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers four games to one, with their only 2017 NBA postseason loss coming in game four of the NBA Finals.
It should be noted that according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich earns more money per year than Kerr. However, his salary is not just for his head coaching duties, but for his role as team president as well. Kerr passes Monty Williams of the Detroit Pistons, who signed a six-year deal worth $78.5 million ($13.1 million per year in May of 2023).
