Steve Kerr Talks Trash To Nikola Jokic, And Then Learns That Was A Terrible Decision Just Minutes Later

Steve Kerr has been around NBA greatness for his entire career. He played with Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, and Nate Robison during his playing days. As a coach, he’s led Steph Curry and Klay Thompson - the best shooting duo in history - to four NBA Championships.

While each of those players is great for a different reason, he knows one trait they all share. If you try to mess with or talk trash to them in any way, it usually doesn’t end well for you. The greats find a way to silence their opponents.

Which is why his antics in the fourth quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ game against the Denver Nuggets are particularly confusing. 

With just over five minutes to go in the fourth quarter and Golden State up 123-112, Jokic played full court defense on Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski. Just before the guard crossed half court, Jokic tried to sell a foul call after Podziemski extended his arm.

The refs rightfully didn’t call anything, and Kerr called a timeout to settle his team. But as Jokic walked back to his bench, Kerr mouthed his displeasure at Jokic for his antics.

Kerr Picked The Wrong Guy To Mess With

I get Kerr’s frustration. One of the biggest reasons why most fans don’t like the NBA is because players only play defense so they can sell fouls. Ironically, Kerr said this was something that frustrated him after the Warriors lost to Denver on Christmas Day. Jokic had quite a few free throws in that game, which bothered the head coach.

So here we are just over a week later with these two crossing paths over this issue again. Kerr got annoyed, which is understandable.

But that doesn't mean he should have talked trash with one of the best players in the world with the game still very much up for grabs. And it proved to be a horrible decision. 

The Warriors led by as many as 18 in the final frame and had an 11-point lead when Kerr got mad. But the Nuggets kept chipping away at the lead, and Jokic tied things up at 127 with 26 seconds to go. 

After Curry turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, Denver had one last chance to tie things up. They called the number of their all-world center to do the honors to try to win this game for the Nuggets.

And as is often the case with the great ones, Jokic found a way to get the job done.

After receiving an inbounds pass, he dribbled just beyond half court and heaved a 40-foot shot. You can probably guess how it ended.

Kerr had to watch helplessly as the man that he had just taunted called game on his home court. I have a feeling Kerr will have a recurring nightmare about a certain All-Star Serbian for a while now.

You don't mess with the greats unless you want to be humbled. Kerr re-learned that the hard way last night.