Brooklyn Nets All-Time Assists Leader Jason Kidd Will Coach His First NBA Finals

Jason Kidd is set to coach his first NBA Finals ever. The former Nets point guard got the head coaching job for the Dallas Mavericks in 2021 -- and thanks to his playbook, the Mavericks made it to two Conference Finals in the past three years. Kidd will now lead the team in the franchise's first NBA Finals since 2011.

During that season, Kidd won the championship with Dallas and Dirk Nowitzki was crowned the 2011 Finals MVP. This time around, it will be the Boston Celtics instead of the Miami Heat matching up with the Mavs.

As preparations continue for Game 1 tomorrow, Kidd couldn't help but mention former Mavericks power forward Kristaps Porzingis and his tenure with Dallas at the NBA Finals Media Day in Boston.

"I only had him for a short period of time -- Offensively, we looked to post him up a little bit more than Rick (Carlisle) had used him in the post," said Kidd.

Carlisle was the head coach for the Mavericks before the former Nets point guard stepped in. So far in the 2024 playoffs, Porzingis is averaging 12 points and 5 rebounds on 40% shooting from three and 39% from the field. During the season, the current Celtics forward put up 20 points per game, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Ironically, the Latvian's squad just wrapped up sweeping Carlisle in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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AJAYI BROWNE

Ajayi has covered the NBA for several years, most notably covering the league at large for SLAM and the Brooklyn Nets at several outlets before joining Inside the Nets.

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