Steve Kerr And Michael Jordan Have Never Talked To Each Other About Their Dads Getting Murdered: ‘I Think It Was Probably Too Painful’

Michael Jordan and Steve Kerr won three NBA championships together on the Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Kerr hit the game-winning shot in Game 6 of the 1997 Finals against the Utah Jazz off a pass from Jordan, who punched Kerr in the face before the 1995-96 season.

Jordan and Kerr will always be linked. 

One painful point Jordan and Kerr share is that both of their fathers were murdered. In The Last Dance documentary, Kerr revealed that he and Jordan have never talked about their dads getting killed. 

“We never discussed that,” Kerr said. “I think it was probably too painful for each of us.”

Jordan’s dad was killed in the summer of 1993 in North Carolina, while Kerr’s dad was shot in 1984 in Lebanon. 

Jordan retired from the NBA after his father was killed to play baseball. He returned to the Bulls near the end of the 1994-95 season. 

After Jordan punched Kerr in the face before the 1995-96 season, Bulls head coach Phil Jackson threw Jordan out of practice. Jordan called Kerr after punching him to apologize and their rapport, both on and off the court, went to another level. 

“We talked it out, and it was probably, in a weird way, the best thing that I ever did, was stand up for myself with him because he tested everybody he played with, and I stood up to him,” Kerr said in The Last Dance. “From that point on, our relationship dramatically improved and our trust in each other, everything. It was like, ‘All right, we got that out of the way. We’re going to war together.’”

In Jackson’s book “Eleven Rings,” Jordan said he acted like an idiot when he punched Kerr in the eye. Jordan knew he had to change if the Bulls were going to win more championships.

“It made me look at myself and say, ‘You know what? You’re really being an idiot about this whole process,’” Jordan recalled, via Chicago sports historian Jack M Silverstein. “I knew I had to be more respectful of my teammates.”

The Bulls went 191-40 when Jordan and Kerr were in the lineup together. That’s good for a stellar winning percentage of .827.

Kerr may not be in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame like Jordan, but he won five championships with the Bulls and San Antonio Spurs and is the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-point percentage. Kerr shot 45.4% from beyond the arc during his career.

Jordan is first in NBA history in points per game, fourth in steals, fifth in field goals and second in player efficiency rating. He holds the NBA record for most points (63) scored in a playoff game. 

Jordan has career averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks with the Bulls and Washington Wizards. He won five MVPs, one Defensive Player of the Year Award, six championships, six Finals MVPs, 10 scoring titles and three steals titles.