Dallas Mavericks: Looking back at Jason Kidd’s time in Dallas

Jason Kidd has officially been enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Kidd spent 6 full seasons and 2 half seasons with the Dallas Mavericks throughout his career, with the biggest moments of his time in the NBA coming in 2011.

For a long time, Dallas Mavericks fans viewed Jason Kidd as someone they could never fully support. Despite his stellar rookie season that led to a Rookie of the Year award and his even better sophomore season that led to his first All-Star appearance, the memory of Jason Kidd leaving haunted a lot of Mavs fans.

The trade that brought J-Kidd back to Dallas didn’t help the skeptics very much. During the 2007-08 season, the Mavs decided to trade Devin Harris (along with a few other players and some future draft picks) to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Jason Kidd and a few other players that raised the Mavs payroll.

Devin Harris was in the midst of his best season as a Dallas Maverick up to that point and was starting to look like the guy they chose with the 5th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. In fact, Harris went on to make the All-Star game in 2008-09, his first year with the Nets.

Meanwhile, Kidd did not hit the ground running in Dallas. His first season and a half with the Mavs were ugly and frustrating for a fanbase who wanted to see Dallas back in the hunt for a title after the 2006 fiasco. Many of us (myself included) were worried that ’06 was as close as we were ever going to get to the top of the hill.

Then, as if by magic, all was forgiven of Jason Kidd, the Mavs front office and everyone else involved with the team from 1980-2011. The truth of it all is that Jason Kidd was no longer the player he once was by the time the 2010-11 season rolled around. He was no longer the best player on the court and instead settled into his role as the court general that did what needed to be done as opposed to what he was used to doing.

This was one of the best changes the Mavs could have made as Kidd quickly became one of the most important players to a team that was on its way to a championship.

Kidd’s time in Dallas was about a whole lot more than just numbers. There was no better leader that could have been on the court alongside Dirk Nowitzki. Despite his old age, Kidd used his basketball IQ and his incredible understanding of how others play the game to become not just a key cog on the offensive end, but even more so on defense.

So many good things can be said about Jason Kidd’s return to Dallas, but one thing is for sure. Kidd was here at the right time and in the right place to become an NBA Champion and to help the Mavericks franchise achieve the highest goal. For that reason, Kidd will always be remembered as a Hall of Famer and a legend in Dallas.