Steve Kerr
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Stephen Douglas "Steve" Kerr (born September 27, 1965 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a former NBA basketball player, who retired after the 2002-2003 season as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
Steve Kerr went to Palisades High School (now Palisades Charter High School) in Pacific Palisades, California. As the son of an American ambassador he spent much of his childhood travelling around the world. One day in September of 1984, he saw his life drastically change when his father, who was then serving as president of the American University of Beirut, was murdered by Islamic militants in Lebanon.
Kerr was about to start playing basketball on the Arizona basketball program. His college career there started in November, two months after his father's death. Kerr helped the Wildcats reach the Final Four tournament in 1988.
Kerr was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 1988 NBA draft, but then he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989. He spent three years there, and then, he played one season with the Orlando Magic. In 1993, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls. The 1993-1994 and 1994-1995 Bulls reached the playoffs, but, without Michael Jordan's presence for all of 1994 and much of 1995, they could not win championships. However, with Jordan back full time for the 1995-1996 season, the Bulls went 72-10 and defeated the Seattle SuperSonics for the NBA championship, allowing Kerr to be a part of a team that set a record for the most wins in a season, and to start his run of four NBA championships in a row.
Kerr made the game-winning shot in Game Six of the 1996-1997 finals against the Utah Jazz that gave the Bulls back-to-back championships. The Bulls again triumped over the Jazz in the 1997-1998 finals, after which Kerr was traded to the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs made it to the finals for the first time in their history, and Kerr won his fourth ring in a row when the Spurs beat the New York Knicks for the 1999 NBA championship.
Kerr ended his career as a dependable bench player who was capable of making jump shots and three-pointers during the game's most critical motions. He remained a key substitute for the Spurs until his retirement.
In the 2003 Playoffs, Kerr made key contributions in Game Six of the Spurs' Western Conference Finals series against the Dallas Mavericks, including a clutch three-pointer that helped eliminate the Mavericks. The Spurs eventually won the NBA championship that year by beating the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals, led by Kerr, David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Emanuel Ginobili, among others.
Kerr announced his retirement after the 2003 NBA Finals. He was then hired as an NBA analyst by TNT, and also contributes to Yahoo! as an NBA commentator. He was also considered by autograph experts to be a good autograph signer for fans.
His career totals are: 5,437 points for six points per game, 1,060 rebounds for a total of 1.2 rebounds per game, and 1,658 assists per game, for an average of 1.8 assists per game. He also retired as the league's all-time leader in three-point shooting percentage for a season (.524 in 1994-95) and a career (.454).
On April 15, 2004, Kerr was announced as a member of a potential group of buyers that would acquire his old team, the Suns, from Jerry Colangelo for $300 million.