Kidd Helps USA Back to the Top
By Matt McQueeny, NJNets.com
September 6th, 2007
Nets fans are intimately aware of what Jason Kidd brings to a team. You hear it all the time: he makes people better, plays hard all the time, forces teammates to play above the levels anyone had thought they could play at, leads by example. With the USA Senior Men’s Basketball Team needing leadership, chemistry, and a captain to steer the ship, Kidd put his undefeated USA Senior Team record on the line and at the age of 34 came back into the fold.
"He threw one alley-oop pass to me one time and I didn't even realize I was open, but he saw that I was. That's how good he is. Playing with someone like Jason is every player's dream."
- Kobe Bryant, USA Today
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Though, at 1.8 points per game, he was the lowest scoring guard in the competition, and the 110th lowest scoring player out of 118 players, those who watch Kidd know not to be fooled by that simple points per game statistic.
"J. Kidd loves to push the ball and he pretty much knows everybody's game, where they like the ball. We have to be aware of where he's at, that's our job. We have to be on the same page as he is, because he is always two steps ahead of everyone else."
- Carmelo Anthony, USA Today
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With Jason, it’s an attitude. It’s the way he plays the game – all out, all the time. Players know they will get the ball, and follow suit. They don’t want to let the point guard down.
“It was amazing to watch – I shouldn’t say amazing because I’ve seen this happen more than once – where a guy does not have to score a point and can control the game,” said Nets General Manager Ed Stefanski.
“Even though Jason didn’t play a lot of minutes like a lot of the players. But when he was in there, you could just feel his presence. He does something we’ve seen where players just get better, they’re more focused. Because the one thing is I don’t think players want to let Jason down, because he plays so hard. He’s the perfect guy to lead us to a gold medal next year.”
His track record says that it shouldn’t be a problem. He continued his undefeated USA Senior Men’s Team record with the perfect string in Vegas, where Team USA won all 10 games they played by an average margin of 39.5 points.
"It's nice when you earn somebody's respect. but it's better when you already have it. He's got everyone's ultimate respect, from coaches to players. . . . Jason has played more games than I've coached and that's a lot of games."
- Mike Krzyzewski, L.A. Times
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Kidd averaged 15.8 minutes a game, 4.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds. His assist average was good for third best in the Tournament; teammate LeBron James was second, with 4.7 assists. Kidd, however, had an astounding 9.2 assist-to-turnover ratio; LeBron was at 2.8. No other player in the tournament was better than a 4.6.
Said Stefanski, “Jason no question wanted to go out and play for his country. The minutes were great because they didn’t really have to really go hard with anybody in a lot of minutes. So, that was good for every team in the NBA that had players out there. He averaged about 16 minutes a game, played extremely hard while he was out there. He stayed in shape. So it shouldn’t be that hard for him – hopefully he keeps his shape – going into veteran camp.”
Kidd’s play has shown no signs of drop off. Further, he has improved in many respects through the years, especially where court discretion and long-range shooting are concerned. With the point guard’s 14th NBA season approaching, Stefanski was asked if it was a marvel to watch the way Jason is “aging.”
“Jason in his words had the second-best year of his career last year at the age of 34. But he always stays in pretty good shape; he’s one hellacious athlete and he is a true competitor. I don’t marvel at it, and I don’t want to say I’m used to it, but it’s something we’ve come to expect now.”
“He’ll turn 35 this year; we have him under contract for two more years. I don’t even want to think about the Nets without Jason Kidd. We’re just very happy with what he’s doing right now.”
The Nets, and Team USA, are more than happy with what the unselfish leader is doing right now.
"Jason was terrific, man. He just played awesome basketball. He was the true engine to our team, the maestro. He got after people and led our team defensively. He was wonderful to have as a teammate."
- Michael Redd, San Mateo County Times
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