How Jason Kidd went from superstar player to successful coach

By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer

Jason Kidd is in rarified air.

He's one of the few former NBA superstars who has transitioned into becoming a successful head coach.

Kidd, who has led the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 11 years, attributes his success to the least memorable part of his playing days, when he was humbled by becoming a role player at the end of his career.

"There was no ego then," Kidd told FOX Sports.

Most former NBA players who have found success in the coaching ranks were role players throughout their careers. They understood the grind of the guys on the bench. They spent their careers learning how to talk to superstars.

Kidd is an exception.

He was a 10-time All-Star, nine-time All-Defensive player and six-time All-NBA selectee who led the league in assists five seasons. He's widely considered one of the greatest point guards ever, a magician with the ball who had incredible court sense and was a lock-down defender.

It's often hard for a player of that caliber to not get frustrated by slower learners and players who aren't as skilled. But Kidd said he quickly learned that he couldn't compare himself to his players.

"You can't say, 'This is the way I would do it,' because everybody is different," Kidd told FOX Sports. "You have to understand that and be all right with that. Some [former stars] can do it and some have a hard time doing it. My job is to help everyone recognize their strengths and put them in a position to be successful."

Only eight NBA championships have been won by coaches who were Hall of Fame players, including Lenny Wilkens (one), K.C. Jones (two), Tom Heinsohn (two), Bill Russell (two) and Bill Sharman (one).

To put that in perspective, Phil Jackson, a former role player with the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets who you may have heard of, won more championships as a coach (11) than all of those ex-superstars combined.

In the Western Conference finals, Kidd is coaching against a former role player who became a highly successful coach in Steve Kerr. Kerr led the Golden State Warriors to five straight NBA Finals from 2015-2019, winning three championships over that period.

On the court, Kidd was the paragon. But on the sideline, that honor firmly belongs to Kerr.

Kidd and Kerr used to play against each other, with their most memorable meeting coming in the 2003 NBA Finals between the Nets and San Antonio Spurs.

Kerr's assessment of Kidd: "Jason was amazing." Kidd's assessment of Kerr: "He was cheering."

But that's definitely not the pecking order nowadays.

"In the coaching fraternity, [Kerr] is the superstar," Kidd told FOX Sports. "He is the Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson. If you use the Spurs, the Tim Duncan, David Robinson. He's right there with Pop [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] when you talk about superstar coaches."

Kerr has a theory as to why former role players have found more success in the coaching ranks.

"We didn't make as much money as those guys," Kerr quipped, flashing a wide grin, before delivering a serious response.

"One theory I've always heard that I think makes some sense is that it's harder for superstar players to really understand how hard the game is for the lesser players. Whereas, if you were a lesser player, coaching makes more sense because you can really identify one through 15 what all the guys are going through, and you sort of had to figure out how to make an impact in the game. Maybe it forced you to examine things a little bit deeper."

Early in his coaching career, Kidd struggled with some of the pitfalls of being a former superstar. He became a head coach immediately after his final season as a player in 2012-2013 and reportedly had authority issues with management during his first and only season with the Brooklyn Nets. While he was learning his way, he was accused by some players of being overly aggressive and harsh.

Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley says Kidd has changed.

Dudley played under Kidd when he was in his first season at the helm of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2014-2015. Dudley then played under Kidd again six years later when he was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2019-2021. And most recently, Dudley joined Kidd's coaching staff in August 2021 after he was hired to take over the Mavericks.

According to Dudley, Kidd is a completely different coach now than he was back then.

"Night and day," Dudley told FOX Sports. "His demeanor has calmed down. He trusts his assistants. He has learned from [former Lakers coach] Frank Vogel. His communication of being upset is different, like how he would get on guys if he lost his patience. He's just more even-keeled, and he's more confident in himself."

Kidd said that each of his experiences over the past nine years have helped him develop into the coach he is now.

He pointed to his unremarkable stints with the Nets (2013-2014) and Bucks (2014-2018), in which his teams never got past the second round of the playoffs, as teaching him valuable lessons, as well as his time with the Lakers as an assistant (2019-2021), a period when he didn’t know if he’d ever get another chance to become a head coach.

"When I was in Brooklyn, I was with an older team my first year coaching," Kidd told FOX Sports. "In Milwaukee, we helped build a franchise that was broken. They had only won 15 games the year before we got there. And we got them to win 41. We helped develop [Giannis Antetokounmpo], now one of the best players in the world today. I learned a lot winning a championship in L.A. under Frank Vogel: Just relax, things tend to work themselves out and try not to stress over the little things."

Now, Kidd is on one of the biggest stages in sports after leading the Mavericks to the fourth-best record in the Western Conference (52-30). He recently stunned the NBA world by shepherding his team past the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the playoffs with a shockingly lopsided 33-point win in Game 7.

Of course, being a former-superstar-turned-coach has its advantages, too, namely that Kidd has a special relationship with Luka Dončić. Perhaps more than most other coaches ever could, Kidd intimately understands the pressure that Dončić is under nightly — and how to support him through that.

In turn, Dončić has thrived under Kidd, becoming one of the biggest superstars in the NBA.

"I know what he's going through," Kidd told FOX Sports. "He's incredible at 23. He handles everything with class. He's not afraid. He loves the challenge, and that's kind of cool to be around. My job is to help him, to try to take away the stress that might come with that."

The Mavericks credit Kidd for keeping the ship steady throughout a turbulent season. At the top of January, they were under .500 (17-18) and in eighth place in the Western Conference. But Kidd always believed his team would turn things around — and he instilled that belief in everyone around him.

"Even when we lost four in a row, three in a row, he kept the same even-keel, which I think he might have gotten from Frank Vogel, because Frank Vogel was like that," Dudley told FOX Sports.

Kidd says being a part of the Lakers' championship run in 2020 truly taught him a lot. Under Vogel, he got a masterclass in defensive strategy, as well as in maintaining steadiness amid the turbulence of Kobe Bryant's death, the pandemic, social unrest and the isolation of the Bubble.

Dudley believes that if Kidd hadn't coached under Vogel, he might not be in the position he is today.

"I think he wouldn't be as successful," Dudley told FOX Sports of Kidd, who led the Mavericks to the seventh-best defense in the league this season.

The main thing that makes Kidd so special is he was willing to do something that most superstars aren't able to do: He got over himself. He softened around the edges. He listened.

Kidd accepted that in the realm of coaching, he needed to be a pupil with his eyes wide open, receptive to what everyone had to say around him, including the 15th man on the bench and coaches who never could've dreamt of being the player he once was.

Now, Kidd is one of the last four coaches standing on one of the biggest stages in sports.

He doesn't need the aggravation. He doesn't need the money. He proved all he needed to prove a long time ago.

He's doing it because he loves it.

And because he wants to become a superstar once again in a new way.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.