Steve Kerr explains the lose-lose situation of coaching Steph Curry as he chases history

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr explained the tradeoff of coaching Steph Curry as he approaches a historic feat — one that could make Kerr a villain. 

Heading into the Wednesday night game that could have defined Steph Curry’s career, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Curry’s odds of making NBA history were about “50-50.”

In order to do so, Curry would have to make 16 3-pointers, three more than his single-game record of 13 threes. With that, Curry would have had 2,974 3-pointers, defeating Ray Allen’s longstanding record of 2,973.

Curry had Ray Allen’s blessing, and Kerr believed he had a shot at making that many 3-point shots. Alas, Curry failed to break the record in their 104-94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, although he did get six shots closer to breaking Allen’s record.

As disappointing as the delay may seem, it did save Kerr from a difficult decision.

“If Steph actually did that and made 15 threes, that means he’s got about 45 points minimum,” Kerr told 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” on Tuesday. “We’re probably winning by a healthy margin, I’m guessing and that would make me the villain if I take him out. And yet, if I don’t take him out, I’m a complete fool because he could get hurt. It’s pretty much lose-lose for me.”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr explains the tradeoff of coaching Steph Curry to NBA history

Funnily enough, the record for single-game threes belongs to Curry’s teammate, Klay Thompson, who scored 42 points on 3-pointers alone in a 2018 game against the Chicago Bulls. Thompson scored 52 points that night, proving that a 45-point game wouldn’t have been out of reach for Curry.

Although the NBA watches Curry’s every move with anticipation, Kerr stressed that Curry would never attempt to break the record with a flourish if it came at the expense of his teammates.

“He would not chase a record like that at the expense of a game, at the expense of other guys’ playing time,” Kerr said. “If it were to happen, it would happen in the context of the game.”

Six digits closer to the goal, perhaps Curry will finally break the record in the context of their upcoming game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 11.