The Athletic generated widespread discussion after releasing its list of the most admired leaders of 2025. The rankings were based on responses from 116 individuals across North America and featured a mix of familiar and unexpected names, sparking debate about how leadership is defined across different fields. Among those at the top was Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. At 60, Kerr’s leadership credentials are well established.

He has guided the Warriors to four NBA championships, served in a front-office role, and led the USA men’s national team. However, some fans have questioned aspects of his recent decision-making, particularly surrounding Jonathan Kuminga. Those concerns stem from Kerr’s handling of Kuminga’s role over the past year, including periods outside the rotation following his return last season and uncertainty during contract extension talks.

Even after Kuminga re-entered the starting lineup, further changes followed, leaving fans divided on the approach.

Although the veteran stated that his decision was mainly influenced by spacing issues that emerge when Jonathan Kuminga is sharing the floor with Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, the Dubs Nation doesn’t seem to think so, as they called out their head coach despite him getting such massive praise from several individuals.

“Best Leader in Sports but somehow completely wrong and trash when it comes to Kuminga… ha,” a Warriors fan page wrote on X. They expressed their frustration with the entire Jonathan Kuminga situation, especially with the forward recently putting in a trade request after becoming eligible on January 15th. Soon, more fans joined in on the action as they began to give heat to the longtime Warriors boss.

Warriors fans are unhappy with Steve Kerr despite his winning a major honor

Although the people whom The Athletic picked seemed to admire Golden State Warriors’ head coach Steve, the same cannot be said for the Dubs Nation, which is furious at their head coach. That’s exactly why one of them used X to showcase his frustration with Kerr. “Any list with Steve Kerr at the top immediately loses any sort of credibility and validation,” he wrote.

The fan not only pointed out that Steve Kerr probably shouldn’t be at the top of the list, but probably shouldn’t make the list at all. Meanwhile, another user straight-up laughed at the anonymous panel’s selection of Steve Kerr as the No. 1 most admired leader in sports. “Steve Kerr 😂😂😂😂😂😂,” he commented.

Nonetheless, not all the reactions out of the several that poured in were bad ones, as some even gave the 60-year-old his flowers while not turning their eyes to what he did with Jonathan Kuminga. “Making good decisions doesn’t mean you never make bad decisions,” one fan wrote.

He pointed out that even though Steve Kerr might’ve made the wrong decision when it comes to JK, that doesn’t nullify his good work. After all, Kerr stands amongst some of the most successful coaches in the league’s history. Now, much might suggest that if it weren’t for Stephen Curry, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation, but that’s not completely the case.

That’s because even though Curry might have been hands down the biggest contributor, Kerr’s role was also massive throughout their dominant period. Nonetheless, that still didn’t stop the majority of the fans from getting baffled with Steve Kerr being the No. 1 leader in all of sports, as one of them wrote, “Steve Kerr number 1???”

It goes to show that whoever The Athletic picked among the 116 people, they clearly don’t resonate with the fans. That’s because if it were truly up to the fans, they seemingly wouldn’t have placed Kerr so high up on the list. Meanwhile, Jonathan Kuminga’s hunt for a new home continues.