Before Steve Kerr became a general manager or a head coach or one of the more well-known faces of the NBA, he was one of the top commentators at TNT Sports.
Altogether, Kerr was a game analyst TNT from 2003-07 and then again from 2011-15, calling top NBA conference finals games as well as the NCAA men’s Final Four through TNT’s partnership with CBS. Kerr leapt directly from his job as a game when he took the Golden State Warriors head coaching job in 2015, and then went on to win four championships in the Bay Area.
And now, amid rumors that Kerr is considering a departure from the Warriors with his contract set to expire this spring, a major NBA broadcast partner is reportedly making a big run to bring Kerr back to television after more than a decade.
Per NBA insider Marc Stein on Substack:
“League sources tell The Stein Line that ESPN’s top executives have been lobbying Kerr aggressively to try to convince him to return to the world of NBA broadcasting, but the Warriors are expected to meet with Kerr as early as Monday to resume discussions about his status. I’m told Golden State has been operating internally in recent days as though it is more likely than not that a common ground can be found with the 60-year-old on a new deal that would keep him in place coaching Stephen Curry.”
Kerr chose not to extend his contract and coach as a lame duck during the 2025-26 season, and reports following Golden State’s quick postseason exit suggested his future would be tied to the Warriors’ roster makeup and his own willingness to change his offense. But while it would be hard to imagine Kerr coaching any team but the Warriors, a return to broadcasting would suit him.
As evidenced by the fact that a recent Q&A with the New Yorker made headlines, when Kerr speaks, people around the NBA listen. Add that to his wealth of experience as a broadcaster, and it’s no surprise that ESPN would make a run at him.
ESPN will have a fourth broadcast team in as many years calling this year’s NBA Finals. The network appears hardly settled on the current mix of Mike Breen, Tim Legler, and Richard Jefferson.
Unlike its other championship properties, ESPN has lacked a signature broadcast team for the NBA since it laid off Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson in 2023. Meanwhile, NBC and Prime Video have come in with strong No. 1 teams: NBC with Mike Tirico and Reggie Miller, and Prime with Ian Eagle and Stan Van Gundy.
ESPN also geared up for its new 11-year broadcast rights deal with the NBA by licensing Inside the NBA from TNT Sports. The network now has the strong NBA studio show that it has long struggled to produce. With Kerr, it would have a broadcast team befitting of the home of the Finals.
Particularly given the network’s messy split with Doc Rivers, another entrant into media free agency this summer from the NBA’s head coaching ranks, Kerr is a clear-cut top target. Unfortunately, one has to wonder whether Kerr is truly considering this pursuit by the Worldwide Leader, or if he is just using it to drum up his salary demands from the Warriors.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.