Steve Kerr to coach Golden State Warriors for rest of NBA Finals

OAKLAND - When the Warriors’ coach took the podium to address the media before Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, it was Steve Kerr, not Mike Brown, who nestled into the seat.

Kerr will coach Golden State from the bench tonight, the first time he has done so since April 19. The head coach stepped away from in-game duties after the Warriors beat Portland that night, citing a worsening of the health condition that has plagued him for much of the past two years.

In his absence, acting coach Mike Brown guided the team to 11 consecutive wins against the Trail Blazers, Jazz, Spurs and - in Game 1 here on Thursday - the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“Apparently, it was not a distraction,” Kerr said Sunday. “I don’t know. We have not lost, so that’s a good indication that it was not a distraction. And what’s our record now without me? Like 812-6 or something?”

It’s actually 50-4, following then-assistant Luke Walton’s 39-4 mark to start the 2015-16 season. Walton is now head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

That was the first time Kerr found himself unable to cope with the debilitating headaches that have gripped him since a back surgery resulted in a spinal-fluid leak in the summer of 2015. He returned from that sabbatical to help guide the Warriors to the best record in NBA history at 73-9, though they lost to the Cavaliers in the 2016 finals.

He made it through the entire regular season this year, and the Warriors again had the best record in the league at 67-15.

Kerr had gradually increased his participation over the past two weeks, and was regularly attending practices and games. He had said all along that he would not return to the bench until he had strung together several “good days” in a row.

“As I told you guys when I stepped aside in Portland, I don’t know what happened,” Kerr said. “I don’t know why things got worse. But since that time - and it’s probably been, I don’t know, five, six weeks - I’ve gotten a lot better and I feel like I’m back to the baseline of where I was during the regular season.”