Kerr: Jordan scuffle isn't 'something I'm proud of'

Steve Kerr and Michael Jordan got off to a rocky start in their relationship when the two exchanged punches during a Chicago Bulls practice prior to the 1995-96 campaign.

The infamous incident will be a focal point in an upcoming episode of "The Last Dance," and over two decades later, the Golden State Warriors bench boss is ashamed of letting his emotions get the best of him.

"It's not something I'm proud of," Kerr told ESPN's Nick Friedell. "It is something that happens from time to time on most teams during the season. Guys get into it during practice. It's just part of high-level competition. But it's very, very strange to know everybody's hearing this story and talking about it and then I'm going to be on camera talking about it. Michael is. And people are going to be examining this whole thing.

"It's like there's a reason camera crews generally aren't given that type of access. Now, I don't think there was any footage of that fight, because that didn't happen in '98, but just unearthing it all and talking about it is not a lot of fun."

Kerr and Jordan made up shortly after and were part of a team that won the first of Chicago's three straight NBA titles that season.

In Game 6 of the 1997 Finals, Jordan told Kerr in the huddle to be ready to take the last shot. On the ensuing possession, Jordan was double-teamed and he found Kerr for the championship-clinching basket.

"He called me later that day and apologized," Kerr said. "In a strange way, it was almost a necessary step in our relationship, in a weird way. And from then on, I think he understood me a lot better and vice versa. And we got along much better and competed together and I think he trusted me more.

"So it was actually sort of, in the end, it was all good. But we've never talked about it since. To be honest, I don't ever think about it, but I get asked about it because it's a unique (situation)."