The Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd is thought to be one of the best basketball layers currently active in the NBA. Before joining the Mavericks, Kidd led the New Jersey Nets to the NBA finals in 2002 and 2003.
He started his NBA Career with the Dallas Mavericks, went to play for Phoenix, and was traded to New Jersey before returning back to Dallas in February, 2008. In April, 2008, he achieved his 100th career triple-double in the final regular season game.
The eldest of six children growing up in San Francisco, Kidd spent a lot of his youth playing on the public courts of nearby Oakland, often playing with NBA All-Star Gary Payton. To this day the two speak fondly of their time coming up on the public courts of the Bay area.
While in high school, Kidd was ranked the top high school player in the country, earning the Naismith Award. He stayed close to his native San Francisco, attending college at UC-Berkeley. He was a finalist for the Wooden Award as well as another Naismith while in college and in 1994, entered the NBA draft. When he left his college team, his #5 jersey was retired.
In the NBA, he was a 9-time NBA All-Star and on the All-NBA First team in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004. He was on the 1995 NBA All-Rookie First Team, 2003 NBA Skills Challenge Champion and made All Defensive First and Second teams since 1999 to 2007.
Kidd joined forces with some of the other greats of the game on the US Men’s Basketball team in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where they won a gold medal and went undefeated. Kidd has an unbeaten record of 56-0 in USA Basketball (including exhibition games). He has won gold medals in both the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Games.
However, the star’s personal life has not always gone as well as his athletic career. In 2001, he was charged with domestic abuse; he pled guilty to the charge and completed a course of anger management and counseling, in addition to quitting drinking. It was later announced that the couple had reconciled.
However, he filed for divorce in 2007, claiming his wife was insanely jealous, paranoid and had threatened to file false reports of abuse. His wife filed as well, claiming physical abuse. The two have three children together.
A year later, reports emerged that Jason Kidd and model Hope Dworaczyk were expecting a child.
His personal life entirely aside, Kidd is one of the greatest players ever to walk the court. He is one of only two NBA players to score a career total of 14,000 points, 6,600 rebounds and 9,000 assists. Along with Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain, he is one of only three players in the history of the NBA to average triple-doubles for multiple games in playoff series. He is also an all time double triple leader, right behind Magic Johnson’s 138 and Oscar Robertson’s 181, as well as having been named the USA Basketball 2007 Male Athlete of the Year.
Jason Kidd is one of the most accomplished players in the NBA – he has achieved much already in his career and this NBA legend and Olympic athlete may have a lot of surprises left on his career. He is also active in social work, sponsoring a variety of programs for Dallas area young people.
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