Steve Kerr Quietly Won an Oscar on Sunday, Joining Short List of NBA Figures With Academy Awards

Kerr isn’t the first NBA figure to win an Oscar, and he surely won’t be the last.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was an executive producer for the Oscar-winning Best Documentary Short Film “All the Empty Rooms.” | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

While Warriors coach Steve Kerr was on the sidelines at Madison Square Garden as his team played the Knicks on Sunday night, he happened to add an award to his résumé—an Oscar. Even though the Warriors didn’t beat the Knicks, Kerr still ended the day with a victory.

The 98th Academy Awards took place across the country at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, meaning Kerr wasn’t in attendance at Hollywood’s biggest night.

So, how could an NBA coach win an Oscar, you may be asking? Kerr was an executive producer on All the Empty Rooms, which was nominated for Best Documentary Short Film. The documentary showcases empty rooms of children who were killed in school shootings. Kerr has notably been an advocate for families of victims of gun violence as his own father, Malcolm Kerr, was shot and killed in 1984.

Here’s a clip of Kerr talking about why he became involved with this short film.

Kerr also spoke with The Hollywood Reporter a few weeks ago about his role with the short film, to which he claims he didn’t do much except support it.

“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. 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 b---s---. And I think it’s so important. I mean, I have two granddaughters who are going to be heading off to school in the next couple of years. You know, the thought of them having to go through these active shooter drills, it’s just heartbreaking. So 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.”

Kerr isn’t the first NBA figure to win an Oscar, and he surely won’t be the last.

NBA stars who have won Oscars

Kobe Bryant

The late Kobe Bryant became the first professional athlete to ever win an Academy Award back in 2018. He wrote and narrated Dear Basketball, winning the award for Best Animated Short Film. The film was inspired by Bryant’s retirement essay he wrote in 2015 for The Players’ Tribune.

Since Bryant played a large role in the making of the short film, he went on stage with the director and animator Glen Keane to accept the Oscar. Check out their acceptance speech below.

Kevin Durant and Mike Conley

The two NBA stars were executive producers for the 2021 Best Live-Action Short Film winner Two Distant Strangers. The film discusses police brutality against Black Americans.

Durant congratulated the film for winning the Oscar on X, formerly known as Twitter, the night of the Academy Awards in ‘21.

Big time!! Congrats @TwoDistantFilm https://t.co/r3I3ubJPlT

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) April 26, 2021

Conley spoke about working on the film before the Oscars that year, and admitted his teammates were joking with him about winning an Oscar.

“Guys in the locker room were giving me grief about it the other day, just like, ‘You might win an Oscar before you win a championship,’” Conley told CBS Los Angeles back in 2021. “I was like, ‘Hey if I could win both, that'd be great,’ but obviously an Oscar was not something I thought I'd ever be a part of.”

Stephen Curry and Shaquille O’Neal

Warriors star Stephen Curry and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal won an Oscar in 2022 for being executive producers on the Best Documentary Short Film winner The Queen of Basketball. The documentary highlights the life of Lusia Harris, who is considered one of the great women’s basketball players. Harris notably was the first woman to be officially drafted by an NBA team.

Director Ben Proudfoot accepted the award and shouted out both Curry and O’Neal in his speech. He also highlighted how important women’s sports are.

“If there is anyone out there who doubts that there is an audience for female athletes and questions whether their stories are valuable or entertaining or important ... let this Academy Award be the answer,” Proudfoot said.

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