Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has led his team to the 2024 NBA Finals and now finds himself in a position that not many others have been in, having also made it to this stage three times as a player. During a recent press conference, he was asked if he had as much fun getting here as a coach as he did as a player, and admitted coaching is much harder.
“A lot harder to coach,” Kidd said. “… Oh, it’s fun, but it’s harder. As a player, it’s easy. You have a little more control. As a player, it’s a lot easier. As a coach, it’s harder, but it’s gratifying. It does feel good to be able to be here.
“You’ve put in a lot of time,” Kidd continued. “I got to wear glasses now because you watch so much video. As a player, I didn’t have glasses, so it’s a little change there. But I think it’s fun. It’s chess. I love playing chess, to put the other guys in the position to be successful on and off the floor.”
"Coaching is a lot harder…"
– Jason Kidd on whether coaching is harder than playing in the #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/dCC6hbrLiW
— NBA (@NBA) June 4, 2024
I think when you’re as great a player as Kidd was, it would be a lot harder to coach. When he was on the court, he was so good as a point guard that he had a great deal of control over the proceedings.
Now as coach, all Kidd can do is guide others on what they have to do on the court. It certainly helps him to have Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving as the primary decision-makers, but I don’t think even they are as good at running an offense as he was.
Kidd finished his playing career with averages of 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game. He won five assists titles along the way and currently ranks second on the all-time list for assists with 12,091.
Kidd rose to the occasion in the postseason as well, as he led the New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2023. Unfortunately for him, they ran into the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers in 2002 and the Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs in 2003 and lost on both occasions.
Kidd would end up getting one more shot at winning a title when the Dallas Mavericks made it to the NBA Finals in 2011. He was well past his best at that point, but still managed to play a significant role in the Mavs stunningly beating the Big 3 Miami Heat in six games to clinch that elusive title. That championship remains the only one the franchise has won and Kidd would be hoping to add a second this year.
Dereck Lively II Can’t Comprehend Why Jason Kidd Gets Criticized
While Kidd is receiving a whole lot of praise for his coaching these days, that wasn’t always the case. He was heavily criticized at his previous pit stops and was coming under fire at one point during his time with the Mavericks as well. Dereck Lively II couldn’t understand why Kidd was criticized, though, based on his experience with him.
“He’s been one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. He’s put me in positions where he’s expecting me to fail, and even if I fail, he’s gonna leave me in there to learn…Being able to have a coach like that who’s gonna make the players speak, and then say what he thinks, it’s an amazing process.”
“There’s been a lot of criticism of him, but I don’t understand why. I feel like he’s an amazing coach and an amazing person.”
Well, the criticism was a result of Kidd not doing a great job last season and there were some concerning moments in this 2023-24 campaign as well. To Kidd’s credit, he steadied the ship and now has his team just four wins away from a championship.
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