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LeBron James Defends Jason Kidd After Mavs Head Coach Said He Was The Water Boy For The Redeem Team

Originally posted on Fadeaway World | By Gautam Varier | Last updated Sep 7, 2025 2:14 AM ET

LeBron James and Jason Kidd entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday as members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic men's team. With the group on stage during the enshrinement ceremony, Kidd downplayed his role as captain, but James wasn't going to let him do that.

Q: "J-Kidd, you were the captain. So the team was loaded. How did you keep everybody involved?"

Jason Kidd: "Great question. I might have been the captain, [but] I was more like the water boy, the towel boy. The clock, I kept the clock to make sure everybody was on time, no one was late. Asked everybody what Gatorade color they liked."

LeBron James: "Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it... He's the only one that's never lost a game in international play ever. Ever. So, you stop it."

Jason Kidd: "I might have been the captain, but I was more like the water boy, the towel boy..."

LeBron James: "Stop it... he's the only one that's never lost a game in international play ever. EVER."

This J-Kidd and LeBron moment pic.twitter.com/l3NGFASswz
— NBA (@NBA) September 7, 2025

That was a great gesture on James' part, but he wasn't completely accurate. First of all, there are a fair few players who never lost with Team USA. Secondly, Kidd technically did taste defeat. National teams with him as a member compiled a 61-2 win-loss record, but he was a perfect 46-0 in FIBA or FIBA Americas competitions.

Kidd, who is now the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, won five gold medals in total with Team USA, and the one with the Redeem Team was his last on the international stage. That team went 8-0 in Beijing and beat their opponents by an average margin of 27.9 points.

Kidd actually didn't have much of an impact on the court, as he averaged 1.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game. He was a starter on the team, but very much took a backseat to the other big names on the roster.

James was one of them, and he put up 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game at the tournament. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar got his hands on his first Olympic gold medal that year and has gone on to win two more.

It wasn't a surprise that James came to Kidd's defense here, as these two have a good relationship. Kidd was an assistant coach for James' Lakers from 2019 to 2021, and they won a championship together in 2020.

James was disappointed to see Kidd leave for the Mavericks in 2021, but wished him the best. He hasn't won another championship as a coach since, but did get the team to the NBA Finals in 2024.

James also hasn't won a title since Kidd's departure, and he is desperate to win his fifth. Someone who did manage to win five NBA championships was the late great Kobe Bryant, who was also on the Redeem Team.

James spoke glowingly of Bryant at this ceremony, hailing him as the missing link for the team. The U.S. had only managed to win the bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, and Bryant ensured they didn't fail in 2008 as well.

Getting back to the subject of undefeated records, Bryant was a perfect 36-0 when he played for Team USA. He was 26-0 in FIBA competitions and 10-0 in exhibition games.

This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.

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