By james art Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving is no stranger to drama after going through troubled seasons with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. When the Nets’ Big 3 fell apart, they traded Irving to the Mavericks, where he eventually found his way with teammate Luka Doncic. Both players led the team to their first trip to the NBA Finals since Dirk Nowitzki’s magical championship run in 2011, though they fell to the Celtics in five games. When asked about how Kyrie Irving has settled into the team, Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley credited head coach Jason Kidd for their success.
“You’ve heard about Kyrie the last couple of places he’s been,” Dudley said, via a report from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “You haven’t heard anything since he’s been in Dallas. Do you think it’s just Dallas, or do you think it’s 80% Jason Kidd-related?’
Mavericks find their groove
Moreover, Jared Dudley credited Jason Kidd’s Hall of Fame career as a former player for his success coaching Kyrie Irving after he arrived with the Mavericks.
“I’ll be honest with you, there are only two or three coaches in the league who have the qualities and the personality to be able to coach Luca and Kyrie at the same time and have no problems,” added the assistant coach.
Both Dudley and Kidd have won championships with arguably the greatest player of all time in LeBron James and fellow future Hall of Famer Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers, so they know a thing or two about coaching or working with Superstars in the locker room.
Similarly, Dudley also earned praise from his teammates as the locker room guy who kept the team chemistry together during the highs and lows of the season and playoffs.
Meanwhile, Irving himself echoed the assistant coach’s sentiment about Kidd.
“Outside [Jason Kidd] being a Hall of Famer and being like a trusted thinker with a high IQ? He’s also human enough to understand what irritates a player and what makes a player go in a positive way,” the point guard said.
Irving played two seasons in Boston after requesting a trade from the Cavaliers following three straight Finals appearances and the 2016 NBA Championship.
After losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019, Irving joined the Brooklyn Nets, eventually forming the Big 3 with Kevin Durant and James Harden, though they never reached the conference finals in their years together.
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Eventually, Irving clashed with Joe Tsai, the owner of the Nets, which led to his suspension and even dropping Nike as a partner. Finally, the Nets traded the disgruntled point guard to the Dallas Mavericks.
Looking ahead
Pairing another ball player with Luka Doncic allowed both players to play freely as Irving alleviated Doncic’s tendency to stop the ball and gave him another teammate to trust with the ball.
With the addition of Klay Thompson, the Mavericks are looking to make another run in a slightly depleted but still stacked Western Conference.