Steve Kerr had one of the stranger sideline moments of the preseason on Friday night, and it had nothing to do with the scoreboard.
During the Warriors’ 128-118 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center, Kerr caught sight of a fan sitting rows behind Golden State’s bench and did a double take. The reason was obvious once the camera zoomed in: the man looked remarkably like him. Kerr’s reaction, captured on video, showed him looking genuinely baffled as the lookalike arrived at his seat with two kids.
The clip quickly took off on social media, turning a routine preseason finale into the night’s most replayed moment. Kerr’s confused glance became the centerpiece, even as the Warriors wrapped up their Friday game in comfortable fashion.
The man behind the viral resemblance is Steve Gillis, who has drawn online attention before for looking like the Warriors coach. Gillis told Fox Sports’ Melissa Rohlin in 2024 that he had no interest in leaning into the comparison.
“Our club is sponsored by Nike, so I’m in Nike clothes all the time,” Gillis, who was an assistant coach on the US Men’s National Volleyball team in 1998, said. “…There was no intent there in terms of how I try to cut my hair or anything like that. For me, it’s kind of a funny similarity that works out.”
Gillis already had a viral moment two years ago, when a single on-camera appearance pulled in nearly 900K views. This time, the reaction to Kerr spotting him went even bigger, climbing to nearly four million views.
Golden State opens the season against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, with Kerr and Co. looking to prove doubters wrong after an underwhelming 2025-26 season.
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