Mark Jackson made his long-awaited return to Oracle Arena as a broadcaster Friday, eight months after he was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
Jackson and Stephen Curry shared a warm pregame moment, and the ex-coach was given a standing ovation by the Bay Area crowd during a first-quarter timeout.
The highlight of Jackson's return, however, was his take on those who praise the job Steve Kerr is doing, without giving Jackson's three-year tenure its due respect.
"You cannot disrespect the caterpillar and rave about the butterfly," Jackson proclaimed.
Jackson can come up with as many metaphors as he wants - and he should take credit for helping the Warriors evolve into a playoff team - but there's no way around the fact that Kerr appears to be the superior coach.
Jackson was a motivator with a limited offensive playbook, who got the young Warriors to defend. Kerr has unlocked the Warriors' offense with a creativity that has Golden State ranked fourth in offensive efficiency, and he's done so while lifting the team's defense to a No. 1 ranking.
The Warriors, who have seen individual improvements virtually across the board under Kerr, own the NBA's best record at 28-5.
That's one fine looking butterfly.
