 |
|
Kidd led the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back (albeit losing) NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003, the first two in the franchise's history |
The man who made the Nets relevant again, and won a 2011 NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks, is hanging up the old basketball sneakers after one of the most successful point-guard careers in the history of the entire league. Jason Kidd, most recently a Knick for the 2012-13 season, announced his retirement from the NBA earlier today. There were rumors before the season that the 40-year-old would return to the Nets as a backup point guard to Deron Williams before he ended up heading to the Knicks, playing weli in the first half of the 2012-13 campaign before tailing off significantly as the season wound down.
Retirement was thrown around regarding Kidd a ton during the year, but it was still, until his announcement, thought that he would give it another go in 2013-14 and attempt to finish up his legendary NBA tenure with a bright note as opposed to the more negative one he ended this past season on.
Kidd played a massive role in multiple franchises' histories, as the Berkeley grad was drafted 2nd-overall by the Mavericks in 1994, almost immediately displaying future stardom in the three short years he spent in Dallas before being dealt west to the Phoenix Suns. Five playoff seasons in Phoenix later, and Kidd was traded up north to New Jersey, along with Chris Dudley, for a package including troubled star Stephon Marbury.
The trade for Kidd changed the Nets from perennially-troubled and low-performing team to Finals contender in a fortnight. The team won 26 more games in Kidd's first year in town, 2001-02, than it did in the season prior. That led to the franchise's first-ever 50-win season, and eventually, Finals appearance. But it wasn't just Kidd on the 01-02 Nets, as the All-Star headlined a deep roster with Kenyon Martin (who also played for the 2012-13 Knicks), Kerry Kittles, Richard Jefferson, Keith Van Horn, Jason Collins and others, including the famous fan-favorite Brian "Veal Scalapini" Scalabrine.
However, it was clear that Jason Kidd was the heart and soul of that team. Even with New Jersey's ugly sweep in that series at the hands of Kobe, Shaq, and the mighty Lakers, Kidd's maiden Nets campaign was an astounding success, somehow getting fans to show up at the dingy Continental Airlines Area in the swampy Meadowlands to watch a team that many New York Metro Area residents may not have even known had existed.
2002-03 was a very similar year for New Jersey, as the Nets rolled through the Eastern Conference yet again just to face off with another dynasty in the NBA Finals in the San Antonio Spurs. The Nets put up much better of a fight in that series, but eventually succumbed in six games. That loss in Game 6 represents the most recent Nets Finals game, which really goes to show how the team declined from that series.
2003-04 saw New Jersey fall in the Eastern semis to the bad boy Detroit Pistons, who went on to win the NBA Championship that season. Three seasons, three playoff defeats at the hands of the eventual Finals winners.
Then, in December of 2004, the Nets traded to get star wing-man Vince Carter from the Toronto Raptors, pairing him up with Kidd and Jefferson to create a pretty intimidating "Big Three" for New Jersey that provided tons of excitement and highlight plays but no playoff advancements past the Eastern Conference semifinals. In fact, Kidd and Carter made for one of the best passer-dunkr duos in NBA history, as the chemistry they started building with the US Olympic team translated to their time together with the Nets.
However, all that flash never made for much playoff wins for those Jefferson-Kidd-Carter teams as 2008 came and with no real success since 2003, GM Rod Thorn split up the Nets, sending Kid back to the Mavericks in February with Malik Allen for Devin Harris and a whole bunch of nothing. Then in June, Thorn sent Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks for the infamously bad Yi Jianlian and over-the-hill Bobby Simmons. Finally, the year after, in 2009, Carter was traded to the Orlando Magic with (inexplicably) Ryan Anderson for Rafer "Skip to my Lou" Alston, Courtney Lee, and Tony Battie. The Nets scrapped themselves of their stars, and were stuck in the cellar for years as a result.
Even though he never won a NBA championship with the Nets, the memories and stunning plays that Jason Kidd gave us Nets fans during his New Jersey tenure are unforgettable and help remind us of just how good he was at his prime. He's my second-favorite Net of all time of players that I've seen live (sorry, took too big a liking to Vinsanity when I was younger) and for good reason, as the craftiness and sheer brilliance he demonstrated at point guard is rare for any position in any sport. And although he ended up as a Knick, his best days were in Jersey and that's what I'll remember him for.
Hope the retired life suits you well, Jason (and try to cut down on those divorces and DUIs).
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
