As a kid growing up in New Jersey, Kyrie Irving was infatuated with Jason Kidd.
When Irving was nine years old in 2001, the Phoenix Suns traded Kidd to the New Jersey Nets. And while Kidd was leading the Nets to trips to the NBA Finals in 2002 and ’03, little did he know at that time that he had gradually become Irving’s hero.
Fast forward 20 years, and the hero (Kidd) is now coaching Irving with the Mavericks. What are the odds of that happening?
“I don’t think I could have ever imagined it this way,” Irving said Thursday following day two of training camp. “And this is beautiful honestly, because I could reflect on this journey and say I was that nine-year old kid looking up to J-Kidd leading the New Jersey Nets in those Finals.”
Indeed, in an unusual set of circumstances, it is as if Irving and Kidd are joined at the hip.
“We share the same birthday (and) we have had similar relationships that have connected us for life,” Irving said. “I was at his Hall of Fame induction (in 2018) and happened to be sitting next to (Mavs Hall of Fame forward) Dirk (Nowitzki) as well. So, I don’t believe in coincidences.”
A 10-time All-Star point guard, Kidd was born on March 23, 1973. An eight-time All-Star point guard, Irving was born on March 23, 1992. 
With so much in common, it’s almost as if the two were destined to wind up part of the same organization.
“Playing in Jersey I got to meet Kai,” Kidd said. “Kai came to the Hall of Fame celebration, and so we do have a relationship that’s not just about basketball, but off the floor too.
“He is as good as they come on and off the floor and we’re very lucky to have him here.”
While watching Kidd on TV or sitting in the stands at Nets’ games, Irving said he “absolutely” stole some of Kidd’s moves.
“He didn’t really have as much wiggle as I do, and shiftiness,” Irving said while laughing. “He’ll tell you himself. Even the mid-range pull-up.
“I studied his game front to back all his years of being a young guy in the league, and then also when J-Kidd was in New York City where he became just a knock down three-point shooter and a great leader on the bench. But I just appreciate all parts of this journey and I just want to be as successful as him.”
Part of Irving’s journey is knowing that there is more to life than basketball. But while playing basketball for Kidd, he can appreciate the finer aspects of the game.
“Life after basketball is important, but we want to enjoy what we’re doing here every single day, and (Kidd) just brings a natural ease,” Irving said. “His energy is easygoing. He’s going to hold you accountable and he’s brutally honest, which I appreciate. He’s got to be your guy to have that loyalty.
“So, being here in this locker room and going through training camp for the first few days, from day one I felt like — I was just telling one of our guys in there I wish I would have got drafted by Dallas initially. Obviously, they weren’t in position in 2011, but just feeling how this organization wraps their arms around the guys, I had some of that feeling and sentiment in other places. But you can just feel that there was a difference here when I started from day one and these guys really wanted me to be here.”
That was back on Feb. 6, when the Mavs executed a trade with Brooklyn to get Irving to Dallas. And when Irving became a free agent this past 
summer, he explained that the process in deciding to sign a three-year contract with the Mavs was not a difficult proposition.
“I had Dallas as No. 1 on my list,” Irving said. “Obviously, I looked elsewhere — salary cap, opportunities where I could fit in with other guys around the league. But it just wasn’t much space, and me being 31 now I had to have a different vantage point.
“I felt like I could, not just settle here, but be happy to come back here and be welcomed back with a warm embrace. I took everything into account. I took my time a few days before free agency just to be with my family, engaged how they felt about being in Dallas alongside me, and everybody was excited.”
That excitement, Irving said, was felt almost immediately after the mid-season trade from Brooklyn.
“Even when I got traded here in mid-season, a lot of my family was excited and they were just looking forward to me having 
a peace of mind just on the court and off the court,” he said. “I had already dealt with enough the past two seasons, so they knew that I just wanted a lot of that off my back, off my shoulders and not feeling like I had to be Superman or had to be perfect.
“I just wanted to be myself, and then going on the last few years just figuring myself out. So, I think this is the best place to do it and continue to mature and grow as a man.”
Returning to Dallas also was appealing to Irving because he said the Mavs asked his thoughts on upgrading the team, and who to seek out in free agency and in the NBA Draft.
“I think more or less I’m looking forward to starting from day one like we’re doing now, and we have the pieces out there,” Irving said. “We have some young guys that are incredibly active, we drafted well and just to be included in that process felt good.”
Irving said he mentioned to Mavs management about acquiring Boston Celtics’ free agent forward Grant Williams, who the Mavs ultimately signed this past summer.
“He was a big piece in those Boston series when we were playing in Brooklyn,” Irving said. “He really made it difficult on us. He wasn’t the only one obviously, but he was doing the intangibles out there and I think he was looking for a bigger role somewhere else, and I can’t knock a guy for wanting to try more and be more in this league.
“So, coming here and getting the deal that he did, I was proud of him. But also I knew that the work was still ahead of us.”
Irving also knew, for him, teaming up with Luka Doncic would make the Mavs arguably have the most prolific backcourt in the entire NBA.
“He makes the game so easy for everyone around him,” Irving said of Doncic. “I think we got a lot of open shots last year because of how much attention he garnered, and for me I was just coming in and trying to alleviate some of that pressure. A few times I think we were being too passive with one another.
“We’re both killers on the court. Everybody knows it. We want to win, so we just have to continue to have that consistent mentality together and lead the team as best we can alongside other guys that have experience in this league or young guys that we have to coach even more-so. It’s all been a learning experience. It was so quick last year and it was so much pressure on us to win now, and win big.”
When Irving was that kid growing up watching Kidd, he just wanted his hero to help the Nets win big, and go as far as they could go in the playoffs. Time, obviously, has changed.
“I didn’t know what the future held at that point, but I knew I had mentors that I could always lean in on, and J-Kidd was 
one of them,” Irving said. “He always said I could call him and always pick his brain.
“Even when we had a (coaching) vacancy in Brooklyn I wanted to see if he could come and coach us and be another Brooklyn head coach. But I think I’m more or less excited about the off the court aspect and him teaching me how to be a better man and be underneath that type of coaching tutelage. It goes a long way for young guys like me.”
Kidd, meanwhile, is well aware of the skill set Irving has. It’s a one of a kind skill set that’s a danger to anyone trying to contain him.
“I was joking with (guard Jordan) Jelly (Walker) about just (Irving’s) ability to finish any layup you want, left or right,” Kidd said. “His creativity, his imagination, for some of these younger players to be able to be educated, to be able to learn from (is great) because he can do it at a high level.
“So, his presence 
here is big and we need that because, as I mentioned, it’s not just leaning on Luka to bail us out, or Kai. They want their teammates to carry their load, too, and I think that’s what’s going to make us a championship team.”
After playing with some nagging injuries down the stretch last season, Irving said he physically feels great and is ready for the season to start.
“It’s my 13th season, so I’ve been through a few training camps and my focus is just on being prepared and healthy and peaking at the right time,” Irving said. “Coming into every season I want to start right away hot, just do everything the right way.
“It’s impossible to be perfect at the beginning of the season. When we have a new group, we have some things still to figure out, so we’ve got to give each other grace for that.”
For Irving, the grace began for him when he was able to enjoy Kidd’s heroics when he was a kid growing up in New Jersey.
X: @DwainPrice
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