(The Hill) — Steve Kerr is used to performing in front of big crowds at the United Center.
This time, it was in a much different role than before.
Kerr, who won three straight NBA titles in the mid-1990s as a key guard off the bench on Michael Jordan’s vaunted Bulls teams, returned to the United Center on Monday to speak during the opening night of the Democratic National Convention.
“It is so fun to be back here in the United Center,” Kerr said in his opening remarks. “And as you guys know, a lot of good stuff has happened in this building.
“Especially in the ’90s.”
Kerr’s greatest moment as a player, in fact, came right on the United Center floor. He took a pass from Jordan and buried the free-throw line jumper that broke a tie with 5 seconds left in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, securing the Bulls’ fifth NBA title.
Of course, Kerr has done many things in basketball since his time with the Bulls. He won two more NBA titles as a player with the San Antonio Spurs before going on to lead the Golden State Warriors to four NBA titles as head coach.
And Kerr just coached the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team to the gold medal in Paris.
But in case anyone couldn’t recall Kerr’s playing days in Chicago from 30 years ago, he gave the DNC audience a helpful suggestion to remember.
“You young people, Google ‘Michael Jordan,’ and you can read all about it,” Kerr advised. “There was an amazing vibe in this building back in those days, and I feel that same winning spirit here tonight.”
At the end of his speech, Kerr invoked a more modern basketball analogy. He put his head to his hands in a move made popular by Steph Curry, his star player for the Warriors, and said it was time to tell Donald Trump “night, night.”
Speaking in the building where he won three NBA championships as a Bull, Kerr called for America to “play on the same team” and support the vision of the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz ticket.
Kerr was a vocal critic of Trump during his presidency, and the Warriors did not visit the White House for championship celebrations during the former president’s time in office. On Monday, Kerr praised the qualities that Vice President Harris and her running mate bring to the election.
“I believe that leaders must display dignity. I believe that leaders must tell the truth. I believe that leaders should be able to laugh at themselves. I believe leaders must care for and love the people they are leading. I believe leaders must possess knowledge, but with full awareness that none of us has all the answers,” Kerr said.
“And, in fact, the best answers often come from members of the team. And if you look for those qualities in your friends, or your boss, or your child’s teacher, or your mayor, then shouldn’t you want those same qualities in your president?”
Kerr also said he knew the dangers of getting political, given his day job.
“I can see the ‘shut up and whistle’ tweets being fired off right now,” he said. “But I also knew, as soon as I was asked, that it was too important as an American citizen not to speak up in an election of this magnitude.”
After ribbing Walz for some of his football coaching strategies during the Minnesota governor’s days as a high school coach, Kerr implored the country to come together, just as basketball Olympians hailing from several professional teams did this summer.
“Think about what our team achieved with 12 Americans in Paris — putting aside rivalries to represent our country,” Kerr said. “Now imagine what we could do with all 350 million of us playing on the same team. Not as Democrats. Not as Republicans. Not as Libertarians. But as Americans.”
Kerr has been political before, and he’s been personally affected by world events likely more than most in his position.
Kerr’s father, Malcolm, was an American University professor and renowned expert on the Middle East. While serving as president of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, Malcom Kerr was assassinated by the militant group Islamic Jihad in 1984. Steve Kerr was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Arizona at the time.
As an NBA coach, Kerr made headlines with his passionate response at a press conference to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in which he challenged lawmakers to move forward on background checks and other gun protections.
Earlier this year, Kerr joined Harris on a call with students about gun violence prevention, warning of the dangers of a second term for former President Trump.
After more than a year of planning, Chicago is at the center of the political spotlight this week as host of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
Day 1 Recap:
The convention runs through Thursday. Chicago has hosted Democrats 12 times, the last being nearly 30 years ago when President Bill Clinton was nominated for a second term.
WGN Cover Story: Why Chicago has hosted more presidential conventions than any other city.