Steve Kerr Saw Himself in the Crowd — and His Double-Take Went Viral All Over Again

The short answer

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr did a genuine double-take on Friday night at Chase Center after spotting his famous lookalike, Steve Gillis, sitting a few rows behind the Warriors bench during Golden State's 128-118 preseason win over the Portland Trail Blazers. A roughly 40-second clip of Kerr's bewildered stare went viral on Saturday, October 17, racking up millions of views — and it is not the first time the two Steves have broken the internet together.

What happened

Preseason finales are usually forgettable. This one produced the weekend's most shared NBA clip before the regular season even started.

In the video, shared by @TedBuddy8 and reshared widely on X on Saturday, Kerr is standing near the Warriors bench when he turns toward the stands — and freezes. Sitting among the fans, a few rows back and next to a young boy in a blue-and-yellow jersey, is a man with the same gray-blond hair, the same facial features, and the same overall look as the coach himself. Kerr, in a white Warriors sweatshirt, simply stares, visibly trying to process what he is seeing while fans around the lookalike laugh and react. As one voice in the arena footage puts it: "Yeah, they got a real one."

The game itself went Golden State's way. The Warriors beat Portland 128-118 to close the preseason at 4-2, but by Saturday morning the score was almost an afterthought — the sideline double-take was the story.

The lookalike has a name — and it's Steve

The doppelgänger is not a stranger. He is Steve Gillis of Las Vegas, an English teacher at Bishop Gorman High School and co-founder and director of the Summerlin Volleyball Academy, as identified by the Las Vegas Review-Journal back in March 2024. Yes, his first name really is Steve.

Gillis first went viral in March 2024, when he attended a Warriors game against the San Antonio Spurs in San Francisco and broadcast cameras caught the resemblance. Commentators joked at the time that "he looks more like Steve than Steve," and Kerr played along, quipping that he thought Gillis was "strikingly handsome." Gillis later explained that the resemblance is pure coincidence — he is a volleyball coach, not a basketball coach, and he was not dressing or cutting his hair to imitate anyone.

Two Steves. Two nearly identical faces. One chose volleyball, the other basketball — and both, clearly, really like the Warriors.

Why it's blowing up

Three things make this clip so shareable. First, the reaction is real: this is not a staged bit, and Kerr's long, stunned stare is funnier than any scripted response could be. Second, it is a sequel — fans who remember the 2024 moment instantly recognized Gillis, and the "he's back" framing turned a funny clip into a running internet saga. Third, the timing is perfect: it landed on the final weekend of the preseason, when NBA fans are starved for anything fun before the games start counting.

The numbers back that up. The clip was reshared by major hoops accounts including Legion Hoops and Polymarket Hoops, with fans joking that the Warriors are "being cloned." One report put Kerr's reaction at nearly four million views, and multiple national outlets picked the story up on Saturday.

Key facts

Where and when: Chase Center in San Francisco, Friday night, during the Warriors' preseason finale against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The result: Golden State won 128-118 and finished the preseason 4-2.
The lookalike: Steve Gillis, a Las Vegas English teacher and volleyball academy director who first went viral as Kerr's double in March 2024.
The clip: A roughly 40-second video shared by @TedBuddy8 showing Kerr's double-take behind the bench.

What's next

The Warriors now turn to the regular season, opening against the Los Angeles Lakers — and if Gillis shows up in the crowd again, expect the cameras to find him. Kerr has taken the whole thing in good humor from the start, and Gillis has never tried to cash in on the resemblance. For now, the internet has its favorite preseason moment, and it did not involve a single basket.

FAQ

Who is Steve Kerr's lookalike?
He is Steve Gillis, an English teacher at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and co-founder/director of the Summerlin Volleyball Academy, who first went viral as Kerr's double in March 2024.

When did the new viral video happen?
On Friday night at Chase Center during the Warriors' 128-118 preseason win over the Portland Trail Blazers; the clip spread widely on Saturday, October 17, 2026.

Has this happened before?
Yes. Gillis first went viral at a Warriors–Spurs game in March 2024, when broadcasters joked he looks "more like Steve than Steve" and Kerr called him "strikingly handsome."

Did the Warriors win the game?
Yes. Golden State beat Portland 128-118 to finish the preseason with a 4-2 record.