Will Jason Kidd bring the best out of Dallas Mavericks rookie Jaden Hardy?

A common thread among the breakouts under Jason Kidd bodes well for Dallas Mavericks rookie Jaden Hardy

Kidd hung up his sneakers in 2013 and immediately jumped in as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Brook Lopez was an All-Star before he arrived, but he had his most efficient scoring season under the Hall of Fame point guard before Kidd was quickly gone for Milwaukee.

Middleton was a starter averaging 12 points per game and Giannis scored just 6.8 as a rookie prior to the now Mavericks head coach arriving. By the time Kidd was fired in 2018, Antetokounmpo was a two-time All-Star, and Middleton was efficiently averaging 20-5-4.

Jalen Brunson breaking out fits a similar mold. Kidd and his staff have had tremendous success bringing the best out of players that can handle the ball and create shots for themselves. All four players had their scoring reach new heights under coach Kidd with the latter three seeing a significant jump in their playmaking too.

Jaden Hardy averaged 19.5 points per game in the G League last season. The 6’4 guard struggled with his efficiency and playmaking, but he is a natural scorer. The Mavericks got an incredible raw talent with the ceiling to be the steal of the draft, and coach Kidd’s track record suggests he may be able to bring the best out of Hardy.