Before Steve Kerr turned the Golden State Warriors into a dynasty, there was a point when Stephen Curry’s future with the franchise was anything but certain. The former Davidson star was reportedly involved in trade talks. But Mark Jackson’s arrival changed the story that we know today.
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Previously, it was Kenny Smith who gave credit to Jackson for truly building the team around Curry. Then Joe Johnson backed Smith’s long-standing argument about Jackson’s influence on the Warriors.
“I think Mark Jackson played a huge pivotal role in the Warriors,” Johnson said on the Night Cap podcast. “Having that core group with with Klay, Draymond, Steph, he kind of molded those guys,It’s almost like somebody going to the damn casino warming up that damn slot machine, then Steve Kerr came and hit the damn jackpot.
“They won four titles, you know what I mean? I think Mark Jackson played a huge role in in that dynasty and what they was able to do. I agree.”
The statement captures the complicated way Jackson’s tenure is remembered. Steve Kerr definitely deserves enormous credit for taking Golden State to another level, but Johnson believes the foundation was already being built when Jackson was in charge.
Even Kenny Smith argued that Jackson did far more than simply coach a young Warriors team. According to Smith, Jackson helped save Stephen Curry’s career in Golden State and played a role in transitioning the NBA into the three-point-heavy era that defines today’s game.
“Steph Curry, before he got there, did not play in the fourth quarters of games,” Smith said. “They used to play Monta Ellis, and they would say Steph could not play in the fourth quarters because defensively, he could not handle that.”
The Warriors selected Curry seventh overall in the 2009 NBA Draft after a remarkable college career at Davidson. But he entered a franchise that was still built around Monta Ellis. Ellis was the team’s established scoring guard and had won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2007.
As a rookie, Curry started alongside Ellis and averaged 17.5 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds while playing 36.2 minutes per game. Still, Ellis remained the focal point of the offense. There were even serious discussions about Golden State trading Curry to Milwaukee for Andrew Bogut.
That trade ultimately happened differently. The Warriors sent Ellis to Milwaukee for Bogut, while Curry remained in Golden State. The decision proved monumental.
So, Jackson recognized what the Warriors had in Curry and began building around him. Klay Thompson was still developing. Draymond Green was a second-round pick fighting for his place in the league. Yet Jackson trusted those players and helped establish the confidence that would eventually define the Warriors’ core.
Thompson has since spoken openly about Jackson’s influence, crediting his former coach for helping him develop and giving him the freedom to shoot. Green, meanwhile, has repeatedly acknowledged Jackson’s belief in him during his early NBA years.
Once Jackson took over in 2011, Curry’s role began changing. The young guard was given more freedom, and Golden State gradually moved toward a system that emphasized his shooting, playmaking and ability to create offense from deep. Jackson also helped establish the defensive culture that would become an important part of the Warriors’ identity.
Jackson did not win the championships. Kerr did. But Steve Kerr inherited a team that was already on the rise.
The Warriors went from a 23-win team in 2010-11 to 47 wins in Jackson’s first season. Two years later, they won 51 games and reached the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Golden State’s defense also improved dramatically under Jackson, giving the team an identity beyond Curry’s offense. Then came Steve Kerr.
The transformation was immediate. The Warriors won 67 games in Kerr’s first season and captured the 2015 championship. Over the next several years, Golden State became one of the most dominant teams in NBA history.