Jason Kidd’s Next Move Emerges Months After Leaving Mavericks

Kidd for its NBA studio coverage, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported Oct. 5. Andrew Marchand and Dan Shanoff of The Athletic followed with a report that Kidd would join NBA Countdown, the network’s pregame and halftime show, in the seat Michael Malone held last season.

Dallas and Kidd split May 19, five seasons into his tenure and about two weeks after the franchise hired Masai Ujiri as president of basketball operations. The Mavericks announced the move as a mutual decision to part ways. Stein described it as a firing in his Oct. 5 report.

Two weeks later, Dallas hired Dusty May as Kidd’s replacement. May had just won the national championship with the Michigan Wolverines.

Jason Kidd’s Five Seasons Coaching The Dallas Mavericks

Over five seasons in Dallas, Kidd went 205-205 in the regular season and 22-18 in the playoffs. His first team went 52-30 in 2021-22 and reached the Western Conference finals with Luka Dončić leading the roster. That was his highest win total with the franchise.

In 2023-24, with Dončić and Kyrie Irving in the backcourt, Dallas beat the LA Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Minnesota Timberwolves to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2011 championship. The Boston Celtics won the series in five games. Dallas had signed Kidd to a multiyear contract extension in May 2024, a day before its second-round series against Oklahoma City opened.

The Mavericks traded Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 2, 2025. Over Kidd’s last two seasons, Dallas went 65-99, and the 2025-26 team finished 26-56.

Before Dallas, Kidd coached the Brooklyn Nets for one season in 2013-14 and reached the second round of the playoffs. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks for three and a half seasons before the franchise fired him in January 2018. Milwaukee reached the playoffs twice in his first three seasons there and lost in the first round both times. Across 10 seasons as an NBA head coach, Kidd is 388-395.

Kidd then spent two seasons as a Lakers assistant under Frank Vogel, and that staff won the 2020 championship in the bubble near Orlando, Fla. Several people from those Lakers followed Kidd to Dallas. Jared Dudley, a forward on the 2020 roster, and Greg St. Jean joined his first Mavericks staff in 2021. Vogel came aboard as a coaching consultant in 2024-25 and served as Kidd’s associate head coach in 2025-26, the same season fellow 2020 Lakers assistants Phil Handy and Mike Penberthy joined the staff.

Kidd was home with his family and still watching games when he spoke with Delfin Dioquino of Rappler during a trip to the Philippines for an NBA fan event in late August.

“I think I love coaching. I love to watch players get better. I want to win. I want to help the team win,” Kidd said. “And so I would never say no to coaching. Maybe somewhere down the future, but also right now I’m just at home really trying to enjoy my family.”

“And then also just watching the game and seeing if I can help others still from the coaching side,” Kidd continued. “I’m always talking to Jalen Brunson and to Giannis. So just trying to help others now that I’m not coaching.”

Jason Kidd And ESPN’s NBA Countdown

Malika Andrews hosts NBA Countdown, which last season paired her with analysts Kendrick Perkins and Chiney Ogwumike. Perkins won the 2008 championship with Boston. Ogwumike was the first overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft and is a former WNBA All-Star.

Malone joined the show after the Denver Nuggets fired him in April 2025 with three games left in the regular season. He coached 12 NBA seasons, including 10 in Denver, and won the 2023 championship with the Nuggets. On Countdown, he replaced Bob Myers.

In April 2026, the North Carolina Tar Heels hired Malone to replace Hubert Davis, who was fired March 24 after five seasons.

ESPN had not announced a deal with Kidd as of Tuesday.

ESPN opens its 2026-27 regular-season coverage with a doubleheader Oct. 21. The Timberwolves visit the Miami Heat at 6:30 p.m. CT, and the Golden State Warriors play the Lakers at 9 p.m. CT.