Warriors coach Steve Kerr opted to prepare for his team’s NBA game against the Celtics, rather than watch President Trump’s inauguration.
But it didn’t help Golden State, which suffered its worst home defeat in four decades at the hands of Boston on Monday night.
Kerr has long been an outspoken critic of Trump and he delivered a brutal speech in support of Kamala Harris at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
On Monday, however, Kerr kept his focus on Boston rather than Washington, where Trump was sworn in for a second term.
‘I didn’t watch the inauguration. I chose to watch Celtics tape,’ said Kerr, who recently lost his childhood home in the Los Angeles wildfires.
But that extra preparation could not prevent the Warriors from falling to a humiliating 125-85 loss to the Celtics on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Steve Kerr: “I didn’t watch the inauguration. I chose to watch Celtics tape.” pic.twitter.com/BOpTXMD1k1
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) January 20, 2025
Golden State had not lost by 40 points at home since January 15, 1985. But this defeat came less than a year after the Celtics dealt the Warriors a 140-88 pounding.
Kerr made headlines for his comments about Trump at the DNC, when he taunted the then-Republican nominee and borrowed Steph Curry’s ‘night night’ celebration .
‘As a coach and former player, as a husband, a son, a father, even a grandfather, and as an American, I believe in a certain kind of leadership.
‘I believe leaders must display dignity. I believe that leaders must tell the truth,’ Kerr told the crowd.
‘Shouldn’t you want those same qualities in your president?’ he continued. ‘When you think about it that way, this is no contest.’
Kerr then put his hands to his head and vowed that – after election night – ‘in the words of the great Steph Curry, we can tell Donald Trump: “Night, night”‘
In the end, Trump defeated Harris to earn a second term as president.
The following night, Kerr sarcastically mocked Trump over his previous claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
‘I want him to do well the next four years. I want our country to do well. I’m just thankful that there wasn’t any voting fraud this time,’ Kerr said.
‘Last time (in 2020), I mean, all those illegal immigrants who crashed the border, raped and murdered people and then voted six times, that was unfortunate.
‘But thankfully this time everything was clean. So, it’s great that every election has been really valid except for that last one four years ago.’
On Monday night, Jayson Tatum led six Boston players in double figures with a game-high 22 points.
Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 18 points and Jaylen Brown scored 17 for Boston. The Celtics dropped the season-series opener to Golden State, for the fourth straight season, before getting even – and then some – in the rematch.
