Here at AGR, we try to be well-rounded. “Jack-of-all-trades,” to use a phrase that brother and blog-mate Jesse irrationally adores. We bring serious analysis, story telling, and no shortage of inappropriate jokes to the table. This quality of versatility is no stranger to this week’s guest on AGR Authentic Jersey of the Week: Jason Kidd.
Before discussing Kidd himself, let’s start with the jersey. From a design standpoint, it’s not a far departure from Dallas’ original jerseys (although it did mark a shift from green to blue in their road jerseys).
The design is simple (its letters are simpler than those in the old jersey)–the colors do more of the talking. The jersey evokes memories of Jim Jackson and Jason Kidd fighting over Toni Braxton. And Jamal Mashburn…remember him? That said, the strongest memory this jersey evokes is an image of Kidd and Grant Hill sharing sharing ROY honors in a kids biography of Grant Hill. (Two ROY winners in a single season has only happened three times: Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie; Elton Brand and Steve Francis.)
Let’s turn the discussion toward the man himself. Jason Kidd as versatile of a point guard the league as ever seen—right up there with Magic Johnson. Of course Kidd was never as otherworldly as Magic, but his passing was nearly as good, his rebounding was as impressive given his height, his defense was superior, and he’s enjoyed a late-career rebirth as the three-point threat that Magic never was.
In terms of triple doubles, Kidd is the gold standard. He recorded a triple double in 17 consecutive seasons, an all-time high (Magic is second with 12 straight such seasons). To date, he’s recorded 107 triple doubles. That is third all-time behind Oscar’s 181 and Magic’s 138 and well above 4th-place Wilt (78) and 5th-place Bird (59). And that doesn’t take into account the stat-diminishing slower pace that the league has seen for the entirety of Kidd’s career.
Kidd has other impressive career accomplishments. Currently, he ranks 10th in games played, 4th in minutes, 3rd in made 3pt field goals, 2nd in assists, and 2nd in steals.
As we enter this new era of point guards, I fear that Jason Kidd’s legend will get lost in the mix. And that’d be a shame, because there have been few that man the point better than Kidd. He was, fairly so, ranked as AGR’s top PG of the decade when we made our All-Decade team from the 2000s.
In honor of Kidd, before he gets the chance to screw everything up under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, I offer his jersey and share the following brain-blowingly badass feature from NBA.com.
How do you feel about Kidd’s departure to NYC? What about his career? Comment on the article or e-mail us at AGRbasketball (at) gmail (dot) com. Don’t forget to follow @AGRbasketball on Twitter and to like us on Facebook
Alone In The Green Room 