Back More
Salem Press

Table of Contents

Great Athletes

Jason Kidd

by C. Mervyn Rasmussen

Sport: Basketball

Early Life

Jason Frederick Kidd was born in San Francisco, California, but grew up across San Francisco Bay in Oakland, which he always considered his hometown. He was reared in a close family in a pleasant middle-class neighborhood in the Oakland Hills. His parents, Steve and Anne Kidd, taught him and his younger sisters to treat others the way they wished to be treated.

New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd moving around a screen in a 2007 game against the New Orleans Hornets.

ph_Kidd_Jason.jpg

(Ray Stubblebine/Reuters/Landov)

With an African American father and a Caucasian mother, Jason considered himself fortunate to be a member of a multicultural family. He enjoyed competing in many sports, especially soccer, baseball, and basketball, all of which he played in high school. He often competed against much older boys and was talented enough to beat them. He knew he would get better only by playing with the best. By the time he reached junior high school, he was becoming widely known for his basketball skills.

basketball_kidd.tif
basketball_kidd_2.tif

The Road to Excellence

At nearby Alameda’s Saint Joseph of Notre Dame High School, Jason was a sensation on the basketball court. During his first season, he became a star at the point-guard position by relying on speed, quickness, concentration, and his ability to think quickly. His tenacious defensive play was also outstanding. He eventually led his school to two California state championships and was named state player of the year two years in a row. His statistics were amazing: During his senior year, he averaged 25 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, and 7 steals a game. A master of the “no-look” pass, he often electrified crowds. Local interest in watching him play was so great that his team played some of its home games in the huge Oakland Coliseum Arena.

When Jason was fifteen, the father of Gary Payton noticed that Jason was something special. He encouraged his son to take a personal interest in Jason. Five years older than Jason and then playing at Oregon State University, Payton became Jason’s mentor and frequent one-on-one opponent during summers and vacations. He and his father thought that Jason needed to be toughened. Gary grew up in a poor part of Oakland where some of the most competitive basketball was found. Working with Gary proved a bittersweet experience for Jason. Then, as later, Gary was tough and unrelenting in their match-ups, but Jason appreciated his tutoring, and the two young men developed a lasting friendship.

The Emerging Champion

Jason traveled a short distance to college by entering the University of California at Berkeley (Cal). During his freshman year he was again a sensation, thrilling big crowds with his precise execution as a point guard. His no-look passing was especially stunning. During his first season, he led the school’s Golden Bears to a 21-9 record and a berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament, where the team advanced to the third round by upsetting Duke University, the two-time defending national champions.

In only two seasons at Cal, Jason set school records for steals and assists. During his sophomore year he led the nation in assists, with 9.1 per game, and averaged 16.7 points and 7 rebounds. He made first-team all-American and received many other honors.

Continuing the Story

After finishing his sophomore season at Cal, Jason decided to join the NBA. In the first round of the 1994 draft, he was selected second, by the Dallas Mavericks. He took charge of the team in his first season. His leadership, decision-making, passing, and intensity earned him co-rookie of the year honors; he shared the award with Detroit’s Grant Hill. Jason played for Dallas a little more than two seasons, distinguishing himself as an excellent point guard.

Before Jason arrived, the Mavericks had been a poor team. Even with Jason, Dallas struggled, and there were problems with team chemistry and differing attitudes among the team’s top players. Finally, Jason requested that he or a teammate be traded. In December of 1996, he was sent to the Phoenix Suns.

Much happier with the Suns, Jason continued to excel and improve. During his first four full seasons with the Suns, Jason made his teammates better. He made the NBA all-star team and led the league in assists each year. By 2001, he ranked as the leader among the league’s active players in career triple-doubles, double figures in three statistical categories in one game. Under Jason’s leadership, the Suns made the playoffs every season. His one weakness was his outside-shooting percentage. However, after several years of intense work, he developed a good jump shot and became a three-point threat.

At the end of the 2000-2001 season, Jason was traded from the Suns to the New Jersey Nets. Greg Donaldsen, a New York magazine writer, had described the Nets as a “moribund franchise sunk in a polluted marshland.” All this changed during Jason’s first season as the Nets’ point guard. Jason’s outstanding play, leadership, and mastery of the point-guard position turned around the franchise. The Nets had a record of 26-56 in the season preceding Jason’s arrival. In Jason’s first season with the team, the Nets finished 52-30. He played in all eighty-two games and averaged 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 9.9 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. He was so good at distributing the ball that nine different teammates had games in which they led the team in scoring. Moreover, the Nets made the playoffs and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Meanwhile, Jason finished second to the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan for the league’s most valuable player award. Many observers felt that Jason deserved the award because of his contributions to the Nets’ historic turnaround.

Jason led the Nets to the playoffs in each of the following five seasons, including a second trip to the NBA Finals. In 2006-2007, both Jason and teammate Vince Carter had triple-doubles in the same game to become the first pair of teammates to accomplish that feat since the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in 1989. During that same season, Jason broke former Celtics star Larry Bird’s record by compiling his eleventh postseason triple-double.

In February, 2008, Jason was traded to the Mavericks. Toward the end of the season, he recorded his one hundredth career triple-double—a mark that placed him third in that category behind Oscar Robertson and Johnson. The Mavericks lost in the first round of the playoffs. Nevertheless, Jason had one of his best seasons. He made the all-star team for the ninth time and was selected for the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team that won the gold medal in Beijing, China. Previously, he had won a gold medal as a member of the 2000 Olympic team.

Jason and his wife Joumana were active in civic and charitable affairs in the cities in which he played, donating money to churches to build basketball courts. They also bought large blocks of tickets for underprivileged children to attend NBA games, and Jason founded his own charitable foundation and set up scholarship funds.

Summary

Jason Kidd was perhaps the best “pure” point guard in NBA history. Even after he reached the age of thirty-five, his speed, focus, and intensity remained strong. His ability to make those around him better players was perhaps his strongest asset.

Additional Sources

1 

Donaldsen, Greg. “Comeback Kidd.” New York, January 28, 2002.

2 

Moore, David. The Jason Kidd Story. New York: Scholastic, 1997.

3 

Rappoport, Ken. Jason Kidd: Leader on the Court. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow, 2004.

4 

Stewart, Mark, and Mike Kennedy. Kidd Rocks: Rolling with Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002.

5 

Torres, John A. Jason Kidd. Springfield, N.J.: Enslow, 1998.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Rasmussen, C. Mervyn. "Jason Kidd." Great Athletes,Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Athletes_1296.
APA 7th
Rasmussen, C. M. (2009). Jason Kidd. Great Athletes. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Rasmussen, C. Mervyn. "Jason Kidd." Great Athletes. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.