Jason Frederick Kidd

Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA who currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
He led the New Jersey Nets to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances (2002 and 2003) and is considered to be one of the best players of his generation. His on-court versatility also makes him a regular triple-double threat, and he is in third place all-time for regular season triple-doubles in the NBA with a career total of 103[1] and second in playoffs triple-doubles with a career total of 11.[2]

Kidd was born in San Francisco, California, the oldest of 6 children of Steve and Anne Kidd. His father, now deceased, was African-American and his mother is Irish American. He was raised in Oakland Hills, an upper middle class section of Oakland. He attended St. Paschal's Baylon school in Oakland Hills. He frequented the city courts of Oakland, where he often found himself pitted against future NBA All-Star Gary Payton. The two still reminisce about the playing days of their youth. During his youth, Kidd also excelled at soccer as well as other sports.
At St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California, under the guidance of legendary prep coach Frank LaPorte, Kidd led the Pilots to back-to-back state championships, averaging 25 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 7 steals his senior season. During that year, he also received a host of individual honors, including the Naismith Award as the nation's top high school player, and was named Player of the Year by PARADE and USA Today. The all-time prep leader in assists (1,155) and the state's seventh-best career scorer (2,661 points), Kidd was voted California Player of the Year for the second time and also a McDonald's All-American.
During his first year at California, Kidd averaged 13.0 points, 7.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.8 steals per game which earned him national Freshman of the Year honors and a spot on the All Pac-10 Team, making him the fifth newcomer in conference history to do so. His 110 steals broke both the NCAA record for most steals by a freshman and set a school record for most steals in a season, while his 220 assists that season also was a school record. His play also was a key factor in the resurgence of Cal Basketball and helped The Golden Bears earn an NCAA Tournament bid, where they upset two-time defending National Champion Duke University in the second round of that tournament before losing to Kansas in the Sweet 16.
Kidd continued his success as a sophomore, tallying averages of 16.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 9.1 assists, breaking his previous school record for most assists in a season with 272, while also leading the nation in that category. He was also selected a First Team All-American, the first Cal player to be so named since 1968, as well as Pac-10 Player of the Year, becoming the first sophomore to receive that honor. The Golden Bears would make the NCAA Tournament again as a 5 seed, but would be upset in the first round by Dick Bennett's twelve-seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay team 61–57. Kidd was also named a finalist for both the Naismith and Wooden Awards as college basketball's top player and subsequently opted to enter the NBA Draft in 1994. In 2004, the University of California, Berkeley retired Kidd's number 5 jersey, cementing his place among the school's all-time greats.
Kidd was selected as the second pick overall by the Dallas Mavericks, behind Glenn Robinson of Purdue, and just ahead of Duke's versatile swingman Grant Hill. In his first year he averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and led the NBA in triple doubles, sharing 1995 NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons. The year before the Mavericks drafted Jason Kidd, they ended a season with the worst record in the NBA at 13–69. After Kidd's first season with the Mavericks, their record improved to 36–46 which was the best improvement in the NBA that season. Kidd also was voted in as a starter in the 1996 All-Star Game. At the first 3 years with the Mavericks, the move most people associated him with is "the Baseball pass". Kidd was a member of the "Three J's" in Dallas along with Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn. However, that plan did not come to fruition, as all three found themselves playing for other teams shortly thereafter. Kidd was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer for Michael Finley, A. C. Green, and Sam Cassell during the 1996–97 season. In 2001, after five seasons in Phoenix in which the team made the playoffs each year under Kidd, he was traded, along with Chris Dudley to the New Jersey Nets for Stephon Marbury, Johnny Newman, and Somailia Samake.
The 2001–02 season saw Kidd lead the Nets to a surprising 52–30 finish, and marked one of his best all-around seasons as he finished second to the Spurs' Tim Duncan in MVP voting. Many have argued that Kidd deserved to win the award because of his impact in New Jersey—transforming the Nets from perennial league doormats into championship contenders seemingly in the space of a single training camp. His contribution to the Nets during his first season in New Jersey was huge, and resulted in one of the greatest turnarounds in NBA history. He was also fortunate to join the team when he did, as the team reaped the benefits of the newly healthy Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles and Keith Van Horn; along with the trading of Eddie Griffin for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong.
Under Kidd's guidance, the young Nets team prospered through the playoffs and ended up advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference title and the franchise's first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals. However, New Jersey's season would end without an improbable NBA crown, as Kidd and the Nets were swept in four games by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers. New Jersey enjoyed another stellar season under the helm of Kidd's leadership in the 2002–03 NBA season, during which the team finished 49–33 and reached the NBA Finals once again, only to succumb to Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs in six games. He had his highest scoring season with 18.7 points per game[3] and led the league in assists with 8.9 per game