Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is currently a respected coach in the NBA. Before he was calling plays and setting up rotations on the sideline, Kidd was carving out a career as one of the best point guards to ever play in the league. There is one area of his game that Kidd wishes he would have developed earlier in his career, however.
“My whole thing is the pass, right? Defense, pass, but that's how I try to control the game,” Kidd said recently at the Nike Academy while speaking to young basketball players, via Lethal Shooter. “So that's a great question, what could I have done better? Found someone like Chris who could teach me how to shoot when I was your age.”
Kidd then made an attention-catching admission about what his career could have been like had he been a great shooter. It is worth noting that Kidd made the following comments with a smile on his face.
“If I could shoot, s**t, I'd be part of that GOAT conversation I think.”
Regardless of whether he made the comments in a joking manner or not, he clearly believes that developing a consistent jump-shot at a young age is important.
Jason Kidd's NBA playing career
Kidd is a Hall of Famer. In addition to the Mavericks, he played for the Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets) and New York Knicks.
A talented point guard, Kidd was known for dishing out assists and finding the open man. In fact, he led the NBA in assists on five separate occasions. Kidd averaged 8.7 assists per game for his entire career.
He also played a respectable brand of defense, finding ways to cause havoc and force turnovers. Kidd was a scoring threat at times, but he often deferred to his teammates. The Hall of Fame point guard averaged 12.6 points per outing for his career.
He ultimately shot 34.9 percent from beyond the arc during his time in the league. Kidd's three-point shooting improved throughout his career. He made it clear that he wishes he would have been a more consistent threat from deep when he first entered the league, though.
Nevertheless, there is no question that the Mavs head coach is one of the best guards to ever step foot on an NBA floor.
Kidd offers more advice
Jason Kidd provided more advice to the basketball players while speaking at the Nike Academy. Sports often come down to one's mentality, something Kidd discussed in great detail, via EliteYouthBasketball.
“In this room, I asked someone who is the best player. Couple of the guys raised their hand, two women raised their hand. One was a coach, one was the one in the back,” Kidd said. “I was hoping everybody would raise their hand. Because guess what… you're not wrong to think that you're the best. Now are you putting in the work, the time and are you confident to fail? That's what we want to see.
“If I was watching you guys this week, I want to see who is going to fail, and then who is going to come back. That's the one that I'm going to ride with.”
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