Jerry Stackhouse reveals best lesson Steve Kerr taught him as Warriors assistant originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Jerry Stackhouse won’t be returning as a Warriors assistant for the 2026-27 NBA season, but he gained some valuable knowledge while coaching under Steve Kerr for the last two years.
On a recent episode of FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” Stackhouse shared a key lesson from Kerr that he will take into the rest of his coaching career, specifically referencing when Golden State was without injured stars Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler this past season.
“With Steve, it was all about, you know, he wants those guys’ joy. His messaging was always on point,” Stackhouse explained. “I think with guys, from the standpoint of when we lost Steph and we were down, I think he still found a way to find positives in what was happening and using it as growth moments and growth opportunities. And I think for us, we saw our younger guys get better, probably guys that we weren’t counting on going into the season.
“And then when Jimmy went down and when Steph went down, then it was like, okay, this is this an opportunity for you guys to step up. I thought Gui Santos took a really big step for, like I said, a guy that wasn’t even really penciled in, but once he got his opportunity — I think he’s going to provide a lot of depth for the Warriors this year because of that. …
“I saw how how Steve, you know, he wants conversation. He wants to make sure that you understand — even the coaching staff — just constantly confirming with everybody to make sure that you know where you stand and and you know what we’re trying to get accomplished.”
The short-handed Warriors, missing their two best players for an extended stretch, limped through the back end of the regular season before their eventual loss in the NBA play-in tournament.
But as Stackhouse mentioned, there were still some positives that came out of that difficult period — specifically Santos’ emergence as a solid rotation piece. After the 2026 NBA All-Star break, the 23-year-old averaged 15.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 31.3 minutes across 24 games (including 21 starts).
That experience could be invaluable for someone like Santos once the Warriors — hopefully — get healthy next season, as the team attempts to make one last deep playoff run.
And if Santos contributes significantly, like Stackhouse believes, Kerr certainly would deserve credit for helping develop the former No. 55 overall pick.
