Kerr jokingly takes shot at Dillon Brooks as unlikable Canadian

Kerr jokingly takes shot at Dillon Brooks as unlikable Canadian originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steve Kerr, with some serious tongue-in-cheek implied, is a fan of all Canadians -- except one.

Before the Warriors' 133-118 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at Chase Center, Golden State's coach was asked if he still liked all Canadians.

And with a quick quip, Kerr singled out a well-known NBA villain as the only Canadian not on his good list when asked about Canadian Warriors point guard Cory Joseph.

“I still feel that way, but I forgot about Dillon Brooks,” Kerr jokingly said. “No, I stand by that [liking all Canadians]. And I have no idea [about Dillon Brooks]. I don’t know Dillon Brooks at all. But Cory, when we signed him, I called [San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] because he played there, obviously. Spurs drafted him, and I asked Pop, ‘What do you think of Cory Joseph?’

"He said, ‘He’s one of the finest human beings you will meet.’ So, pretty high praise from coach Pop. And that’s exactly what I’ve found: just incredibly professional, a leader, great advice from the bench when he’s not playing, solid play whenever he goes onto the court."

The question from the reporter came after Kerr, before Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals, joked how Canadian fans weren’t impolite, even when attempting to harass him and his team.

“I thought our guys responded well. I mean, we are used to playing on the road, [in a] hostile environment [and] all that. I don’t think we played our A-game; I think that is obvious,” Kerr said. “I think we did some good things. We have a lot of areas we need to improve. The crowd will not have anything to do with that, with this team. We are going to play our game. It’s fun, frankly, it’s fun to be in these environments –  to be challenged, to be threatened. Especially because the Canadian fans are so nice, that even when they’re harassing us, they do it in a very polite manner.”

It’s worth noting that the Warriors had won Game 1 days before Kerr’s legendary press conference, despite Golden State failing to capture the NBA title after losing to the Raptors in six games.

Back then, Kerr described the atmosphere at Scotiabank Arena as “great” and the pre-game national anthem as “one of the coolest things” he has ever experienced. But the Warriors' experiences with Brooks have been anything but.

From a Flagrant foul in the 2022 NBA playoffs that "broke the code" to countless back-and-forths with Warriors veterans including Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, Brooks certainly has established himself as a villain in Golden State lore.

On Sunday, Kerr brought back a little bit of that joking magic to Chase Center.

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