Steve Kerr has won four NBA championships as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, which is a good way to earn quite the contract.
And, as Sportico shared Wednesday, no coach is making more money than Kerr this season:
1. Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors: $17 million per year
T-2. Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat: $15 million per year
T-2. Tyronn Lue, Los Angeles Clippers: $15 million per year
T-4. Doc Rivers, Milwaukee Bucks: $11 million per year
T-4. Ime Udoka, Houston Rockets: $11 million per year
T-4. Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics: $11 million per year
T-4. Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers: $11 million per year
8. Mike Brown, New York Knicks: $10 million per year
9. Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks: $9.5 million per year
10. JJ Redick, Los Angeles Lakers: $9 million per year
That Kerr tops the list is anything but surprising.
After all, he led the Warriors to five straight NBA Finals from 2015 through 2019 and took home three championships during that span. Golden State also won an NBA-record 73 games during the 2015-16 campaign.
He then led a somewhat reinvented roster that no longer had Kevin Durant to the championship during the 2021-22 season, further cementing his status as a Golden State legend.
While the Warriors haven’t made it past the second round since and have been rather inconsistent this season with a 13-12 record, Kerr’s track record is impossible to ignore when determining the best and highest-paid coaches in the league.
Notably, Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets is the only one among the seven highest-paid coaches who has not won a championship as a head coach. Reaching the NBA mountaintop gives coaches the ultimate leverage in any contract negotations, and the highest-paid list reflects that.
Perhaps Udoka can join his peers and win a title this season.
After all, Houston is 15-6 and has Durant leading the way much like he did for some of Kerr’s championship teams. It will have to deal with a daunting Western Conference, but there is plenty of firepower in place.
And lifting that Larry O’Brien Trophy would likely mean a raise down the line for Udoka as well.
