point, Southern California teams had dominated the Northern California squads in the state final, having won nine straight contests.
Early in the game, it looked like that trend would continue. Fremont led by 6 at half-time and racked up a 10-point lead late in the third quarter. However, St. Joseph’s 10 to 0 run had the score knotted up. It was then Kidd’s time to shine in front of nearly fifteen thousand fans and show why he was considered the nation’s top player. In the final three minutes of the state championship, Kidd, who was playing with 4 fouls, notched in 7 points, 3 steals, and 2 assists. He would finish the contest with a game-high 25 points, 8 rebounds, 7 steals, 4 assists, and 1 block. Kidd’s epic performance gave St. Joseph their first state title in school history. In a post-game interview with the LA Times in 1991, Fremont coach Sam Sullivan said the obvious: “Kidd is a fantastic ballplayer who carried his team and won them a championship.”
Following the game, hundreds of avid, hopped-up fans waited outside the coliseum for Kidd’s autograph. It was an exciting time for the Bay Area. Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and the San Francisco 49ers had just won Super Bowl XXIV. Rickey Henderson, Dave Stewart, Mark McGwire, and Dennis Eckersley had pioneered the Oakland Athletics and won the 1989 World Series. And now, there was eighteen-year-old Jason Kidd, as popular as anyone in the state.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton, a native of the Bay Area, summarized it best in a 2018 interview with ESPN. “Joe Montana was doing the things in the ‘80s—winning Super Bowls,” Payton said. “I had left [for college] in ’86, and then J came in and all of the sudden, they [Montana and Kidd] were the biggest things in the Bay Area at the time.”
Despite all this attention, Kidd stayed grounded. In our interview, he said, “Whenever I saw the newspapers, I just read about Joe Montana and how successful he was as a professional. That’s what I paid attention to. It wasn’t so much me being in the newspaper. I focused on the superstars in the Bay Area that I wanted to be like.”
In the summer following the state championship, Kidd was given the opportunity to practice with the Golden State Warriors. Playing with guys like Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin, Kidd was quickly humbled. “As someone who just won a state title, you feel like you’re on cloud nine. I got to see I still had a long way to go.”
Eager to improve his game, Kidd also spent that summer practicing with Gary Payton, who was five years older than Jason and a member of the Seattle SuperSonics. Rather than taking it easy on the teen, Payton showed no mercy. After one day of working out with the former number two overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, Kidd went home to his parents and cried. Payton did not let him score one basket and, in typical Gary Payton fashion, talked a lot of trash, constantly reminding Kidd that he was still just a high schooler. Kidd recalls the advice his parents offered as they looked at their son with tears in his eyes: “You gotta go back. You’re not just gonna sit here.”
From then on, Kidd approached each practice with a positive attitude. “Showing how far away I was just made me that much hungrier,” he said. The goal of becoming a professional athlete was still his focus, and surrounding himself with the best was an easy way to elevate his game. Spending time with people who are better in a particular field causes one to push themselves harder while also focusing on the fundamental aspects of the challenge ahead.
As a senior, with thousands of “Jason Kidd” jerseys and posters being sold at school, Kidd did not disappoint his fan club. While averaging 25 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, and 7 steals, Kidd led St. Joseph to another state championship. To add to his trophy case, Kidd received the Naismith Award, an award given to the nation’s top high school player and was named the state’s player of the year for the second time in a row.
With dozens of schools begging for his talents, Kidd decided to stay in-state and attend the University of California, Berkeley.
Despite coming off two straight losing seasons, Cal was immediately back in national attention, thanks to their new star. During his freshman season, Kidd averaged 13 points, 7.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and led the country with 110 steals. Kidd set an NCAA record for most steals by a freshman. He was named National Freshman of the Year, while also earning a spot on the All-Pac-10 team.
Kidd thrived on the biggest stage: the NCAA tournament. In the opening round against LSU, he had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. There was no bucket bigger than his game-winning basket, which is now referred to as the “pretzel shot,” a name coined by LSU coach Dale Brown.
Following the contest, according to a 1993 LA Times article, Brown claimed that the sixth-seeded Cal Bears had no chance to beat the third-seeded Duke Blue Devils, who were coming off back-to-back National Championships. Brown also added that Kidd would be no match for Duke’s All-American point guard, Bobby Hurley.
With under three minutes to play in Cal’s second-round game against Duke, trailing 77–76, Kidd attempted to pass the ball inside to a teammate, but it was batted away. Rather than giving up on the play, Kidd hustled to the ball, and, while falling down after being fouled by Grant Hill, put up a shot that bounced off the backboard and directly through the net. He went on to make his free throw, giving Cal a 79–77 lead. A lead that the Bears never gave back. Cal’s 82–77 victory gave the Bears their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1960.
The nation’s best freshmen finished the game with 11 points, 14 assists (Cal record for an NCAA tournament game), 8 rebounds, and 4 steals. The performance earned him a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated just two days later. Although Cal was defeated by Kansas in the following round, the Bears’ season was a success.
As a sophomore in the ensuing season, Kidd continued to excel. In a January game against Stanford, Kidd had 18 assists, which is still a school record for most assists in a game. He finished the season with 272 assists, which was not only the most in a season by a Cal player, but also stands as a Pac-10 conference record. He was named 1994 Pac-10 Player of the Year. Following his impressive campaign, Kidd declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his junior and senior season.
Despite playing just two years, Kidd racked up 204 steals, a program record, and the most ever by a Pac-10/12 player. In California program history, there have been 5 total triple-doubles to date. Kidd had 4 of them. In 2004, Kidd’s number 5 jersey was retired by the program.
Kidd was selected second overall in the 1994 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks. After an impressive rookie season, leading all first-year players with 7.7 assists per game, Kidd shared the 1995 NBA Rookie of the Year Award with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons. The following season, he made his first All-Star team and finished the year averaging 16.6 points, 9.7 assists, and 6.8 rebounds.
From 1997 to 2001, no player had more assists than the San Francisco native. During that span, Kidd made three more All-Star teams and led the NBA in assists in three straight seasons. In 2001, after stints with the Mavericks and Suns, Kidd was sent to the New Jersey Nets, a team that was coming off a dreadful 26–56 record.
Eager to shift the culture in a positive direction, Kidd set the tone early on during training camp when he dove for a ball in a summer practice. “Every possession means something,” he said. “I’m out here to compete and win.” While showing leadership skills, Kidd, already one of the premier assist-men in the league, focused on his jumper. When I asked Kidd how he went about molding his shot, I was anything but surprised with his answer. He said, “I shot thousands of shots [per day] and worked on my technique.”
Kidd would head to the practice facility early, working on his approach as the rest of the team piled in. After technique work, Kidd gave me the rest of the rundown for the day: “Then you have the team practice. Then after practice, now you’re working on your corners. Start to work on your distance. Shooting from different spots on the floor, taking shots that you would get in the
