INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Jason Kidd is heading to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for the second time.
Already enshrined in Springfield, Mass., for his legendary career that landed him in the top three on the all-time assists and steals lists, Kidd on Saturday joined the other members of the 2008 U.S. men’s Olympic team in the hall of fame’s 2025 class.
Widely known as “The Redeem Team” after the Americans were upset in the 2004 Olympics, losing three times and settling for the bronze medal, the 2008 squad had Kidd as one of its veteran voices while LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and a younger group did much of the heavy lifting.
Kidd affectionately calls himself the “ball boy” on that team.
“It’s a great honor to go to the Hall of Fame on this team,” Kidd said Saturday before the Mavericks played the Los Angeles Clippers. “When you talk about those names – Kobe, LeBron, (Dwyane) Wade, Melo (Carmelo Anthony) . . . and also coach K, being able to play for him. It’s an honor.”
Mike Krzyzewski, then the coach of Duke, led the 2008 team.
“It wasn’t easy, but we had a lot of fun, just to be able to represent your country,” Kidd said. “For myself, my goals were a little different. I was the ballboy.”
Not exactly. Kidd averaged 13.5 minutes in the eight games the U.S. team played and contributed 1.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Wade and Bryant led the U.S. at 16 and 15 points per game, respectively. Chris Paul was the primary point guard ahead of Kidd, who was 35 years old at the Olympics.
The team’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame, which was announced Saturday in San Antonio at the NCAA Final Four, gives the Mavericks another connection to the 2008 Olympics.
That was the year that Dirk Nowitzki carried the German flag at the opening ceremonies. It was the first time Nowitzki had helped the German team qualify for the Olympics.
Gearing up for playoffs: For the first time this season, the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard played both ends of back-to-back games.
After scoring 20 points Friday night, the veteran forward had 18 by halftime on Saturday.
And the fact that he was playing was newsworthy. He had been held out in at least one of the games every time the Clippers had two games in two days since he began playing this season on Jan. 4.
“Actually, he’s been wanting to do it,” LA coach Tyronn Lue said. “We just wanted to make sure he was ready, medical wanted to make sure that we checked all the boxes and put him in the best position. We didn’t want to risk anything.
“Kawhi’s been wanting to do it for some time now, but the staff wanted to be cautious.”
There are no back-to-back situations in the playoffs, but the Clippers clearly are ramping up Leonard’s usage in preparation for the postseason.
Briefly: The Mavericks had Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II back, but still were without a long list of players: Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, O-Max Prosper, Jaden Hardy and Daniel Gafford were out as were G-League assignees Brandon Williams and Kessler Edwards . . . Kidd had some interesting thoughts on how tough it is to play good defense these days in the NBA. The Clippers are one of the best overall defensive clubs, by the numbers, in the league. “When you look at defense, it’s become harder because players have become better,” Kidd said. “The skillset for 7-footers are point guard (skills). The game has changed. The guys have a little more creativity. The Euro-step, the first time the Euro-step happened, it was called a travel. The three-point shot wasn’t used as much in the ‘80s and ‘90s and 2000s. So when you look at defense that’s played, you’re guarding small against big on the perimeter a lot now. You see the Celtics broke the three-point record and still have some games left. So defense is hard. Penetration, the speed of the game . . . it’s hard playing defense in this league. But some teams like the Clippers do it at a high level with great hands, they’ve seen everything.”
X: @ESefko
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