Fans who tuned in for the game earlier this month between the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs could have sworn they were seeing double. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was in his usual spot patrolling the sideline, but it sure looked like he was also seated in the stands.
A fan in attendance with the same angular face and graying blond hair as Kerr bore such a striking resemblance to the championship-winning coach that the broadcast couldn’t help but note the similarity. Video of the fan sitting in the stands quickly went viral.
Now we know who the lookalike is. His name is Steve Gillis, and he’s pretty sure he even fooled some real celebs.
Roger Federer took a selfie with a Steve Kerr doppelganger at a recent Warriors game in San Francisco 😂
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 19, 2024
(📸: Steve Gillis, h/t @melissarohlin) pic.twitter.com/jD32ut5Kyk
Fox Sports reporter Melissa Rohlin spoke with Gillis about his unexpected fame and the reaction he got attending his first Warriors game. Gillis said Kerr’s former Spurs teammate Sean Elliott shook his hand. It also sounds like tennis legend Roger Federer got tricked when Federer walked past Gillis during halftime.
“Roger looks at me and says, ‘Let’s take a picture,” Gillis said. “He takes three selfies with me. And then he pats me on the shoulder and says, ‘Thanks.’ ...The fact that he was so gracious and nice about it, I’m thinking, ‘I wonder if he knew I wasn’t Steve Kerr?’”
Now, would Federer have thought it was appropriate to ask the real Kerr for a picture in the middle of a game, even if it was halftime? Maybe, maybe not. But he was at the game, not watching on TV, so it isn’t as though he was aware of how Gillis was going viral for his resemblance to Kerr. So maybe he really did think he snagged a selfie with a nine-time NBA champ.
