While we know Stephen Curry was fighting from a runner’s knee, and Jimmy Butler is recovering from a torn ACL, nobody knew about their head coach’s struggle. Steve Kerr may have signed a two-year extension and become the highest-paid coach in the NBA, but the underlying issues began during Game 5 of the NBA Finals in 2015. Multiple surgeries and therapy later, the pain still persists for the Golden State Warriors head honcho.
It was the first of his NBA Finals as the head coach, and that’s when he tweaked his back. Dealing with the pain became an afterthought as they won the championship in Game 6, followed by a celebration that involved further physical activities like golfing and beach volleyball. ESPN’s Wright Thompson provided a detailed story on how the operation suggested by the doctor did more harm than good. “After the operation, Kerr felt better for about 10 days, then got hit by a strange headache, similar to migraines he’d suffered since around 13. Neck pain followed. Some doctors suspected the surgeon had accidentally nicked the protective membrane around Kerr’s spine, which caused a leak of fluid.”
Despite all the resources in hand for the Warriors and Steve Kerr, the pain would remain a mystery. He’d been in pain for 11 years now. On some level, he’d given up on relief. Then this offseason, while on vacation in France, he listened to a podcast with psychotherapist and back pain expert Nicole Sachs. There was a connection since Sachs worked with NBA star Michael Porter Jr., who, like Kerr, underwent three back surgeries. For the Warriors’ head coach, her work was similar to that of psychotherapist Alan Gordon, who also developed Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT).
He even wrote a book, “The Way Out,” and worked with Steve Kerr. “Both Gordon and Sachs expanded on the work of Dr. John Sarno, who believed that chronic pain like Kerr’s came from unresolved, buried trauma, and the pain was the mind’s way of crying out for help.” It’s called tension myositis syndrome, where emotional stress causes physical responses. So the podcast of Nicole Sachs quickly reminded him of this procedure. ESPN’s Thompson even added, “His personality type of a sensitive perfectionist fit the mold of a TMS sufferer.”
Creating a dynasty as a coach and winning championships as a player requires the purpose to be perfect. So he read ‘Mind Your Body: A Revolutionary Programme to Release Chronic Pain and Anxiety by Sachs. The first quote he read made him realize that the treatment would be the right solution for him. it opened with a C.S. Lewis quote: “It is easier to say my tooth is aching than to say my heart is broken.” While the pain continued for more than a decade, Steve Kerr can now feel it “receding”. There is more positive news, as Thompson pointed out.
“The pressure behind his eyes almost going away. The emotional awakening left him raw, and he remained uncertain in his own future with the team, but his daily journaling and meditation brought comfort.” This even led to him picking up his clubs again and meeting at Down in Rancho Santa Fe, after a year of not swinging. The reduced pain somewhat played a key role as the boss man was set to return.
Stephen Curry helped Steve Kerr make the decision
Before having the first meeting with Joe Lacob, Kerr would drive down to Atherton to meet with Steph Curry at his house. They have been together for over a decade, beginning in 2014. Before signing on the extension, it was important for the two of them to chat together and outline the goals. “Curry could request a trade to a better team, but would never make his kids change schools or disrupt their lives any more than his strange job has already disrupted them. These were family men making family decisions, rooted in loyalty to their families, and to the Warriors, which had come to feel like the same thing.”
It took another week and another meeting with the owners, but Steve Kerr did put pen to paper and extended his stay for two more years. He felt that the blood family needed him, so he was back in the Bay Area. The Warriors’ head coach even had two important questions. “How do we coach this team?” he said to Dunleavy. “How do we get our mojo back?”
The team suffered a 37-win season with an exit in the play-in. But this was without their star or the head coach being 100% healthy. With a new and improved Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry putting behind his knee issues, the Warriors can look to contend again. So, the sacrifice that Kerr made over the years ends on a positive note.
