He shoots, he scores. Kerr had one talent, hitting three-pointers at a high percentage, and he also did that at important points of the games.
For a lot of his NBA career Kerr was overlooked. He was sitting on benches until he found his way to Chicago. There he would wait for the open shot and usually hit it.
Kerr was drafted by the Phoenix Suns. They used to often find steals in the second round of the drafts but finding Kerr wasn’t difficult for them as he was at the University of Arizona.
His shooting skills were also on display, in his final college season he hit 114 three-pointers at a percentage of 57.3%. In college, Kerr hit a three-pointer in 38 games in a row, which was a record. Kerr’s college averages for all his seasons were 11.2 points, 3.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds.
Kerr played 26 games for the Suns, he hit outside shots and had an assist per game. The Suns were not looking at him playing a larger role and traded him away for a second round pick. Kerr was on his way to Cleveland where he would be the backup to Mark Price.
In Kerr’s first season with Cleveland he got 21.3 minutes per game and hit 50.7% of his three-point shots. He averaged 6.7 points and 3.2 assists per game. For the next few years, he sat a lot on the Cleveland bench. In December of 1992 he went to Orlando in a trade for a second round pick.
The Magic seemed like the right place for Kerr. They needed outside shooting so he should have found the right team but it didn’t work. He played only 9.4 minutes a game in 47 games. He needed a fresh start and was about to get it.
Steve Kerr signed with the Bulls as a bargain free agent. They were a team that knew how important outside shooters were. They didn’t have Craig Hodges then and John Paxson was slowing down but B.J. Armstrong was playing well.
It was a Chicago team without Jordan so Kerr had to get the ball from Pippen and Kukoc. When Kerr did get the pass he usually hit the shot.
During his time with Chicago, Kerr was very consistent and always playing. He had four seasons of 82 games, and then one of 50. He never started but still played around half the game. He was a regular player who would get around 8 points and 2 assists per game. Kerr hit around half his field goals and 80% to 90% of his free throws.
When Jordan returned, Kerr was there for three titles. The Bulls would start Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen Dennis Rodman and Luc Longley but it was often Kerr and Toni Kukoc who would be on the floor late in games.
The Chicago team would be dismantled and Kerr would be sent to the San Antonio Spurs for Chuck Person and a 2000 first round draft pick. Kerr went from one perfect situation to another. The Spurs would win the title.
Kerr would later continue his career with Portland, after being sent there along with Derek Anderson and a 2003 second round for Steve Smith. It wasn’t a long stay as the Spurs would bring him back in a trade with Erick Barkley and a 2003 second round draft pick for Antonio Daniels, Amal McCaskill and Charles Smith.
Some of Kerr’s NBA accomplishments are four titles in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 as well as winning the three-point contest in 1997. He had also set various records for his shooting with a season of shooting 52.4% from three-point range and his career record of 46.4% three-point shooting.