The NBA will remember Steve Kerr as one of the most successful coaches to grace the hardwood. He has four rings that glorify his career on the sidelines. But as a player, too, he has five rings to his name. Three with the Chicago Bulls and two with the San Antonio Spurs. Now, that’s all about his life in the league. Off the court, too, the 60-year-old is building a resume like no other.

All the Empty Rooms, the documentary short Kerr produced, has won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15. Speaking with the media about the importance of the award for the film, the Golden State Warriors head coach made a public request.

“I think the more people who watch it, the more impact it will have. And that’s the main thing for me — what I want is for people to act. I want people to be proactive with this issue, to address it and understand it,” he said. “My hope is that if people can address it and understand it a little bit, then they’ll be more willing to act on it.”

Now, the NBA and the Oscars rarely cross paths, yet the crossover keeps getting richer. Steve Kerr has now entered that exclusive lane, becoming the third NBA icon to add an Academy Award to his résumé. In 2018, Kobe Bryant captured the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film with Dear Basketball, turning a heartfelt poem into golden history.

There is also the duo of Kevin Durant and Mike Conley, who served as executive producers for the 2021 Best Live-Action Short Film winner, “Two Distant Strangers.” Then, in 2022, Shaquille O’Neal and Steph Curry also joined the winners’ circle as executive producers when the documentary short The Queen of Basketball claimed the Oscar.

Coming back to Steve Kerr, All the Empty Rooms is a deeply personal project for the Warriors head coach.

Personal loss and more: the story behind Steve Kerr’s Oscar-winning documentary short

In 1984, two armed attackers fatally shot Steve Kerr’s father, Malcolm Kerr, at the American University of Beirut, where he served as president. Because of his family’s painful past, Steve Kerr has steadily become a voice for practical firearm safety. However, that mission turned deeply personal again months ago. John Beam, the athletic director at Laney College, lost his life after being shot on campus. The tragedy occurred about 12 miles from where the Golden State Warriors play.

Joshua Seftel’s short documentary All the Empty Rooms traces the silent bedrooms of children whose lives were taken in shootings. The film now streams on Netflix, and Kerr joined the project as executive producer. And now, you can truly see why he joined the project.

“My joke, which is the dead truth, is that executive producer is a fancy way of saying, ‘I had nothing to do with it.’ But I support it,” Steve Kerr told The Hollywood Reporter during the 2026 All-Star Weekend.

“I was asked maybe a year ago if I would be interested in being an executive producer, and immediately said, ‘Yes,’ because I think— number one, I think it’s brilliant. I think it’s so powerful, and I think it speaks to everybody, and it cuts through all the political bullshit. And I think it’s so important.”

Kerr also spoke about his two granddaughters, who will start school soon, saying that the thought of them practicing drills for possible armed attacks troubles him. “I just think there’s got to be ways to get through to people that this is an issue that we can tackle, and we don’t have to be pitted against each other on political lines,” he added.

Therefore, shaped by personal grief and loss, Steve Kerr now stands as far more than a 9-time NBA champion.