On the court, he’s serious business.

That’s what the Nets have learned about Todd MacCulloch in his first season with the team. He’s the guy who can start the joke, but finish the play.

And his teammates couldn’t be happier.

“He’s the best center I’ve played with in my career,” Jason Kidd said of the 7-foot Canadian.

“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had since I’ve been playing basketball,” Kerry Kittles added.

It has been an unlikely journey for the affable 26-year-old, and his upbringing has much to do with his wry sense of humor. Now that he has found stability with the Nets - and the Nets have found much-needed stability with him at center - MacCulloch is smiling even without the jokes.

“This has been a great situation for me,” MacCulloch said. “I think the team likes what I’m doing. And, obviously, I know I can do better. My goals are pretty high.”

Todd Carlyle MacCulloch was born in Winnipeg, Canada - hardly a hotbed of burgeoning NBA talent. In fact, it’s not hot there, period. Portage and Main, the major intersection in MacCulloch’s home city, is often referred to as the windiest corner in North America. So as an active child, MacCulloch had many other interests. He was an accomplished hockey player and juggler by his early teens. His interests also included soccer, badminton, going to the movies (he’s still a big film buff) and hiking.

“The hikes were fun,” MacCulloch recalled. “I remember we used to build a quinzhee, which is similar to an igloo. We’d build ice blocks as high as we could. Then you’d let the snow sit for a couple of hours and you’d come back and dig it from the inside out.”

What led to MacCulloch’s interest in basketball?

Growth.

As he became too tall for hockey, hoops became an option at Shaftsbury High School in Winnipeg. The low-post moves he is known for now would have to be developed. But the height and the soft hands were natural gifts for basketball.

“I don’t think (soft hands) can be taught, but just by practicing there are things you can do to improve catching the ball,” MacCulloch said. “This just goes back to when I was a kid and I’d throw the ball back and forth with my dad.”

With his talents increasing, MacCulloch was recruited to play ball at University of Washington. Now south of the Canadian border, MacCulloch found it strange that the thought of some day playing in the NBA only occurred to him and a few others. Sure he was tall. He had the great hands and the improving moves. But he was also Canadian, where few NBA players before him had hailed.

“I guess if it’s unlikely, people would never really talk about it,” he said. “There was not much correlation between Canada and basketball. But it wasn’t as strange as the Jamaican bobsled team going to the Olympics.”

With the Huskies, MacCulloch helped transform a struggling program. They were 5-23 in the season before he arrived and 9-18 when he red-shirted as a freshman. By the time he finished college, Washington had earned a trip to the NCAA tournament, while MacCulloch became only the second player in NCAA history to lead the nation in field-goal percentage in three consecutive seasons.

“I really felt that if I went to another program where they had consistently won, it would have felt good,” MacCulloch said. “But I knew how much harder it was and how much I put into it just to make it to the NCAA tournament.”

MacCulloch would be rewarded. The Philadelphia 76ers made him the 47th pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. While getting selected that late in the second round offered no guarantees, MacCulloch had fulfilled his dream. In his first two seasons with Philadelphia, MacCulloch played sparingly. But he made an impression backing up for the likes of Theo Ratliff and Dikembe Mutombo. He also caught the eye of the unexpected with his fine play covering Shaquille O’Neal in the NBA Finals last year.

So when MacCulloch became a free agent last summer, the Nets were quick to pounce, signing him to a six-year contract. MacCulloch has been one of the biggest reasons for the Nets resurgence in the 2000-01 season. With an uncanny ability to finish off passes from Kidd underneath the basket - from virtually any angle - New Jersey has itself a strong scoring option down low.

Nets coach Byron Scott says what separates MacCulloch from many centers is his penchant for keeping the ball up, instead of bringing it down or dribbling it before his short shot.

“He’s got great hands and he’s got great size,” Scott said. “He just gets better and better each time he plays. The more he’s played, the better he’s gotten.”

MacCulloch said becoming a starter for the first time in his NBA career has been an adjustment he can handle.

“I think you have to adapt to that preparation that goes into knowing you’re going to start every game,” he said. “You do a lot more homework. As a back-up, you’re used to just getting thrown in the game against anybody in any situation and you only do what you can do.”

Ultimately, however, MacCulloch’s teammates love to talk about his wittiness. He can be self-deprecating. He can be quick with a one-liner, with a very droll delivery. He can try to make himself “sound Canadian” with a simple “eh.” And if all that wasn’t funny enough, the favorite food of a guy who built igloos as a kid is a Slurpee.

“It’s definitely important to have somebody like Todd with you,” forward Keith Van Horn said. “You’re with each other so much, on the busses, the planes, the locker room - it’s good to have a couple of laughs. Todd makes it all the more fun.”

“All throughout the day, you’re thinking about competing,” Kittles added. “But you have to be able to loosen up and kick back and enjoy life at the same time. What better way to do it than with a guy you’re all around all the time, a guy who can crack you up with that crazy Canadian humor?”

MacCulloch said timing is everything.

“It helps to have a few laughs, but it might not be the right thing to do in every situation,” he said. “You definitely have to pick your spots. “I think in this situation, with Byron and Rod Thorn, it works very well. They all understand what it takes to win, but that there can be light-hearted moments. I just try to keep it loose and find my voice in there somewhere.”