Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has many friends, one of whom happens to be the most famous golfer of his generation, if not all time.
The Warriors have won 3 championships in 4 years now, and that type of achievement is going to bring out various shows of support from pretty much every person a team member has ever had even the slightest interaction with.
Kerr recently said that after the NBA Finals concluded, he received what he estimated to be around 70 congratulatory text messages.
He said probably the coolest text was from Tiger Woods, although their relationship isn’t based on anything superficial.
Kerr said that he and Woods became friends last year because Kerr was having issues with his back and Woods was able to relate to it.
Woods had his 3rd back surgery in April 2017, around the same time that the Warriors were beginning their dominant playoff pursuit towards what would be their second title in three years.
Kerr missed significant time that postseason with lingering symptoms from his back surgery he underwent during the summer of 2015.
It makes sense that these two are friends, just because they have more in common with each other than most people they meet.
The percentage of people on Earth who are both world-class athletes and have struggled as severely with back issues as these two have is infinitesimally small.
It’s no surprise that they bonded. In the world of sports, however, the two are in very different places in terms of status in 2018.
Kerr has just won his 3rd championship in 4 years as the head coach of a Warriors squad that is evoking debate over whether they’re the most talented NBA team ever assembled.
Woods just shot a +10 in two rounds during this year’s U.S. Open and missed the cut. He hasn’t won a major championship since 2008. If Kerr reaches out to Woods in the coming days, it won’t be a congratulatory text, but perhaps one of consolation.