Steve Kerr is delighted with McLean Celebrini ahead of the gold medal game

SAN FRANCISCO – Of everything stars of the Golden State Warriors get a development loan, Macklin Celebrinia hockey player of all things, he could become one of the smartest of them all.

The son of Rick Celebrini, Golden State’s heralded vice president of player health and performance, the 19-year-old Maclin has risen to superstar status in the NHL for the revamped San Jose Sharks and Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. It’s a miraculous rise that has not only sent the hockey world into a frenzy, but the entire Warriors organization that cheers him on.

Ahead of Celebrini and Team Canada’s highly anticipated gold medal matchup with Team USA, Dubs coach Steve Kerr talked at length about inner excitement for the kid they watched shoot hoops after practice with their dad and some players.

“It was so much fun,” Kerr said. “Yesterday, in the film session, half the team was watching the last two minutes of the game because it was 2-2. It was 10 o’clock, we were supposed to start film, and we’re like, ‘No, we’re going to watch and see what happens.'”

What happened was that Canada pulled past Finland in the final minute of the third period, and Celebrini scored a team-high 25:53 TOI – an incredible feat for such a young player.

But before he became the youngest NHL player on Canada’s men’s Olympic team, when he wasn’t training on the ice, Celebrini was on the hardwood. Kerr recounted numerous occasions when Maclin and his brothers played 2-on-2 full court at the Dubs’ facility after practice. You read that right, 2 on 2, full courtwith his mother, Robyn, stepping in as the fourth player to break even.

“You want to see an athletic family in action,” Kerr laughed. “That’s one of the fun parts of the job, seeing the families be a part of it… That’s one of the best parts of the job. When we finish the games, every game, win or lose, we open the door to the family room and the kids come in, and it’s just great.

“I’m sitting in my office, drinking a beer, looking down and seeing these little games with the kids of the players and the coaches happening with our players’ kids and the coaches’ kids. People running around and the players coming out, hugging their kids like it’s a special profession, you know, being able to share with your kids and them, you know, but also memories for a lifetime.”

Whether Kerr and the Warriors could have seen the first hints of what Celebrini would become is up for debate. For Moses Moodywho recounted the time the pair spent rehabbing individual injuries over the summer, always knew Celebrini was destined for greatness.

“You know that trend that was going on with LeBron? You’re saying he knew from the beginning?” Mood he grinned. “Yeah, when I first came here, I saw him and he had that look in his eyes! And I said he’d be—no, I’m kidding.”

While Moody didn’t have the foresight that LeBron James is blessed with when it comes to Maclin, he’s putting his chips on his youngest brother, RJ, early on.

“Really, his younger brother, the youngest brother. I talked to him for a while, and he really, he really has this quiet confidence and competitiveness, poise. I say it up front with that. I see something; he looked in the eyes. But so does Mac – he’s got that quiet confidence, he also has that quiet confidence he can’t… But he can overdo it with him, he can tell it. in a conversation, you can, you can just tell when somebody’s thinking, more than the guy talking.”

In that regard, Kerr compared Celebrini’s maturity and leadership to another superstar — Stephen Curry. The intangibles you can’t learn Kerr described. Where those qualities can take him, the sky’s the limit. But if you ask Gary Payton II, he believes Celebrini can etch his name among the greats.

“I feel like he’s going to end up being one of them, when it’s all said and done, like Wayne, Sid, Alex, Mac,” Peyton said. “It’s exciting to see it from the beginning. (We’ll see) where it goes, and right now it’s going pretty damn well… I’m rooting for Mack for sure.”

Even with the incredible chance to stick it to Team USA on the global stage tomorrow, Celebrini is just getting started. But for a Warriors organization that saw one of their own literally grow into the star everyone else sees today, that’s a special, special thing.

“Everybody is engaged, especially the guys who have been here a while, who know Rick so well, and McLean and the family,” Kerr said. “So it’s pretty cool to see it all unfold. And to see the pride in Rick’s eyes and hear it in his voice, it’s wonderful.”