With three straight finals appearances and two championships in his first three years of coaching in the NBA, Steve Kerr has already established himself as one of the most successful head coaches in the league.

Kerr is no stranger to success as he also won five titles as a player with both the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.

Despite only playing for one season under Gregg Popovich, the Warriors coach cites him as one of his biggest influences and often looks to copy certain traits that he used during their time together in San Antonio.

The 52-year-old admired Pop's style of coaching, particularly when he yelled at his superstar players and held them accountable, while he would be more reserved and selective with role players.

Simply put, he knew that if his best players fell in line, everybody else would too.

Kerr admits that's something he appreciated about Popovich and has looked to do the same with his stars in Golden State.

“If he had yelled at me, it might have destroyed me,” Kerr told Melissa Rohlin of the San Jose Mercury News. “Because I wasn’t a very confident player. I had struggled coming from Chicago to a new system. I didn’t play well.”

“Pop was very wise. He knew guys like me, we weren’t the right target. You’ve got to know your audience. You’ve got to know your team.”

Since taking over from Mark Jackson with the Warriors in 2014, Kerr has adopted an aggressive approach with his players to hold them accountable and create a level playing field within the locker room.

“That’s how we started when he first signed onto the team,” Stephen Curry said. “We had a talk… That was something he brought up as setting the culture and identity of establishing himself as a coach.

"His expectation was that I’d be able to take that. And from 1 through 15, he could keep everybody accountable and not have to worry about hurting people’s feelings.”

With two Larry O'Brien trophies in three years, the strategy seems to have worked and continues to do so as they're once again the favourites to reclaim their title.

This season, they face arguably their toughest test in the Western Conference since Kerr took over as the Houston Rockets have emerged as a serious threat to them.

The Rockets are currently on a 17-game winning streak and occupy the number one spot in the west.

A conference finals showdown between the two powerhouses is on the cards and it has the potential to be a classic series.