KEY POINTS

  • Steve Kerr made his NBA debut as a player after he was selected in the second round of the 1988 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns
  • He also played for Cleveland, Orlando, Chicago, San Antonio and Portland during his 15-year tenure
  • He became coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2014

Steve Kerr has amassed a substantial fortune in his years playing professional basketball and working as an NBA coach.

The Golden State Warriors head coach, 56, is said to be worth $35 million as of 2022, according to Celebrity Net Worth. How did Kerr become this rich?

The Lebanon-born coach's professional basketball career started after he was selected in the second round of the 1988 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns. He made his NBA debut in March 1989.

During his 15-year tenure as a player, Kerr also played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers.

His most notable success came during his time with the Chicago Bulls, where he won three consecutive NBA championships.

During his playing career, Kerr earned a total of $15.8 million. His biggest playing salary came during his final season in 2003, when he earned $2.6 million from his contract with the San Antonio Spurs.

Kerr retired from playing professional basketball in 2003. He was then hired as a broadcast analyst for TNT.

He served as president of basketball operations and general manager for the Phoenix Suns from 2007 to 2010.

Kerr continued to work for Phoenix and TNT until May 2014, when he signed a $25 million contract for five years, or $5 million per season, to become coach of the Warriors, with whom he has three NBA titles.

He agreed to a contract extension with the team in July 2018. The terms of the agreement were not released, but it is believed that the deal was not significantly different in terms of salary from his initial contract.

Kerr made headlines this week after he gave a passionate speech about a deadly mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that left at least 22 people, including 19 children, dead Tuesday, USA Today reported.

"Any basketball questions don't matter," Kerr told reporters at the American Airlines Center in Dallas ahead of Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks. "Since we've left shootaround, 14 children were killed… and a teacher. In the last 10 days, we've had elderly Black people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, we've had Asian churchgoers killed in Southern California. Now we have children murdered at school."

"When are we going to do something?" he continued, getting emotional. "I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I'm so tired. Excuse me. I'm sorry. I'm tired of moments of silence. Enough."

Kerr has long been outspoken against gun violence. In 1984, his father, Malcolm H. Kerr, was gunned down by two extremists at the American University of Beirut, where he served as the university president.

Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors reacts to a play during the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Three of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals at American Airlines Center on May 22, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images