all this work may get exhausting, Kidd reminded me that you have to put in the work and believe in what you do in order to see positive results. “There’s going to be days where everything feels perfect, but the ball just doesn’t go in. Are you going to believe in what you’re doing is right and stick with it? Or are you going to try and change it? I had to trust that we were doing the right thing and it paid off.”
During his first season with the Nets, Kidd averaged 14.7 points, 9.9 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and led all NBA players with 175 steals, which had me asking him how the heck he was so good defensively.
Kidd responded, “It starts with your want. You gotta want to do something that most people don’t.” While the majority of players consider playing lockdown defense, “dirty work,” Kidd relished the idea of trying to shut down the opposing team’s best player. He said, “I watched a lot of film. I studied the opponent. Not just the guy I would be guarding, but also the other guys. Just in case there was a switch.” Kidd talked about breaking down film of guys like Muggsy Bogues, Reggie Miller, and Michael Jordan. When he brought up Mike, Kidd was quick to mention “that [Michael’s] file was really small because he was just too good.” Kidd also said that film was something he started to study back when he was in high school. No wonder he currently ranks as the nation’s all-time high school leader in steals.
Kidd had transformed the Nets, leading them to a 52–30 regular-season record and finishing runner-up to Tim Duncan in MVP voting. During the postseason, Kidd performed how he always does in big moments, leading New Jersey all the way to the NBA Finals before ultimately falling to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his twenty playoff games, Kidd scored over 300 points, brought down over 150 rebounds, and tallied up over 175 assists. In the history of basketball, only two other players, Magic Johnson (1990–91) and Lebron James (2017–18), have accomplished that feat in a single postseason run.
The next season, Kidd averaged a career-high 18.7 points and had the Nets right back in the NBA finals. Although they fell short for the second season in a row, losing in six games to the San Antonio Spurs, Jason Kidd had changed the culture in New Jersey and proved he was a winner.
In 2011, at age thirty-seven, Kidd was finally able to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. As the starting point guard for the Dallas Mavericks, Kidd and his teammates defeated the Miami Heat in six games to capture the franchise’s first NBA championship. In game three of the NBA finals, Kidd recorded 10 assists, becoming the oldest player over the last thirty years to have a 10-assist game in the NBA finals.
Jason Kidd ended his career as a ten-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA First-Team member, and a nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He currently ranks second in NBA history in career assists and steals, while also holding onto tenth place in 3-point field goals made. Only two players in the history of the sport finished their career with at least 15,000 points, 10,000 assists, and 5,000 rebounds. One of them is Jason Kidd, and the other is the man who Kidd often mimicked as a child on the playgrounds: Magic Johnson. In 2018, Kidd was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, going down in history as one of the best point guards the game has seen.
At the end of our interview, I asked Jason his thoughts on what he believes are the keys to self-discipline. Obviously, in order to be considered “disciplined” you must identify what you are trying to accomplish. Ever since he was a kid, Jason was focused on becoming the best possible basketball player and would do whatever it took to win. Whether it was breaking down film of his opponent or shooting thousands of jumpers a day, Kidd was committed to the craft.
Not only do they have insane work ethics, self-disciplined people make taking care of their bodies their first priority. Kidd credits getting the right amount of rest and eating the proper foods as the main reasons he was able to stay in the league for so long and perform at a high level. He always ate oatmeal for breakfast, and Kidd firmly believed in taking a nap before the game to physically and mentally rest. Part of staying disciplined is making sure you are locked-in and alert at all times. In order to maintain a heightened focus, you must get a suitable amount of rest. So if you need to, be like Jason and mix in a nap.
For five years, researchers from the University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland, followed 3,462 individuals, all between thirty-five and seventy-five years old and noted that people who napped once or twice a week actually lowered their risk of suffering from any sort of cardiovascular disease. The academics also concluded that these individuals were 48 percent less likely than non-nappers to endure a heart attack, stroke, or suffer from heart failure.
Everyone has that family member, friend, or coworker who, no matter what the situation, finds a way to complain. You know, the ones that swear they have worse luck than anyone on the planet and are convinced that someone is out to get them. Well, when it comes to building self-discipline in life, the more negativity you are around, the less productivity you will generate.
Jason credited a lot of his success to surrounding himself with the right individuals. He said, “When you’re around someone or around people who are doing the right thing, that makes it a lot easier for you to do the right thing.” When Jason spent that summer practicing with NBA stars, he was able to pick their brains and get a first-person look at what it takes to be a professional.
It’s time to put your ego aside and seek out individuals who are smarter and more experienced than you. While you may feel inadequate or feeble at first, much like Jason when he first stepped up against Gary Payton, I can promise that hard work pays off and that there is no better way to grow in a particular field or area than spending time with those who have already walked the path that you are pursuing.
For those who aren’t blessed to be in an atmosphere with high performers in the department that they hope to specialize in, Jason recommends writing in a diary—something that was suggested to him during his time with the Phoenix Suns. In this diary, Kidd would document when things were going well and when things weren’t so pretty. That way, he was able to better prepare himself for when future events arise.
“You have to write things down,” he said. “Things aren’t always going to go well. You can go back at your notes and look back at the time when you were playing at a very high level. [I can see] what was I doing during this time, what was I eating, what was I doing on the court, what was going on in my life, so you can always reflect. When it’s 60 games in [of the NBA season] and I’m tired, I look back at the book to see what I did last year during this time to get over the hump.” Whether it was the ups and downs of the rigorous NBA season or far-fetched goals he wished to accomplish, Kidd made note of it all.
In our goal-setting chapter, we saw the power of writing down our dreams, aspirations, and even simple tasks that we wanted to get done. Jason Kidd’s story is a living example of the benefits of taking time out of your day to document your journey, manifesting that this simple action is a pivotal step in attaining long-term success.
Only two players in NBA history have scored over 15,000 points, corralled 5,000 rebounds, and dished out 10,000 assists: Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Jason Kidd.
After talking with Jason, I purchased my own diary. Any time I felt a day went well, I would make sure to jot down the steps I took during that day for it to be a success. Whether it was the food I ate, the people I spoke with, how I managed my time, or even the thoughts I generated inside my head, I included it all. On days that I struggled or encountered moments where I came up short, I went into full detail as to why the particular situation played out as it did and how I can improve the next time it arises.
The concept of writing in a diary is now a staple for me. Think about it. Life happens so fast, making it impossible to remember everything that goes on. With a diary, you give yourself the ability to reflect on your personal life, which ultimately helps prepare yourself for a brighter future.
While I was hoping
