Jason Kidd isn’t shutting the door on coaching again, and that alone is enough to catch the attention of anyone who remembers what he meant to the Nets.
The Hall of Famer, who parted ways with the Dallas Mavericks in May, said he still has the same pull toward the job that’s driven him through his coaching career. Speaking with Rappler’s Delfin Dioquino while in the Philippines for an NBA-related fan event, Kidd made it plain that the bench still has his interest.
"Yeah, I think I love coaching. I love to watch players get better.
I want to win. I want to help the team win," Kidd said.
"And so I would never say no to coaching. Maybe somewhere down the future, but also right now I'm just at home really trying to enjoy my family."
Even while he’s away from a sideline, Kidd said he hasn’t completely stepped out of the coaching lane. He’s still watching closely, still talking ball, still trying to help.
"And then also just watching the game and seeing if I can help others still from the coaching side," Kidd said. "I'm always talking to Jalen Brunson and to Giannis. So just trying to help others now that I'm not coaching."
Kidd’s exit from Dallas came after the Mavericks and he mutually agreed to part ways in May following a 26-56 season. He left with a 205-205 regular-season record over five years in Dallas, and his run there included a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024.
For Brooklyn, though, Kidd’s name still carries a different kind of weight.
He was hired as the Nets’ head coach in 2013, only months after ending his Hall of Fame playing career. Brooklyn handed him a roster loaded with veterans like Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson and Deron Williams, and Kidd guided the team to a 44-38 record in his first season.
That year ended with a second-round playoff loss to the Miami Heat, but the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors became the one everyone remembers. The Nets won Game 7 on the road, and Kidd became the first rookie head coach in NBA history to win a Game 7 away from home. He was also honored twice as Eastern Conference Coach of the Month.
His Brooklyn stint lasted just one season. The Nets and Kidd split in 2014, and he moved on to become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Brooklyn later traded his coaching rights to Milwaukee for two second-round draft picks.
Even with that brief coaching stay, Kidd’s bond with the franchise goes back far beyond it. He remains one of the defining players in Nets history, leading the team to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003 and becoming the face of one of the most successful eras the organization has ever had.
The Nets retired his No. 5 jersey in 2013, not long after he was named head coach. His playing résumé eventually took him into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Since then, Kidd’s coaching path has run through Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Dallas, and he won an NBA championship as an assistant coach with the Lakers in 2020.
For now, he’s stepping back from the daily grind and spending more time at home. But he’s still around the game, still connected to players he’s coached, and still open to whatever comes next.
At 53, Jason Kidd has made it clear: he’s not done thinking about the NBA sideline.
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