The Mavericks are back to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2011 when they won the championship. This is the first time for Dallas head coach Jason Kidd that he reached this stage as a head coach. The last and only time that the Mavs won a title, he was the team’s point guard.
Following the Game 7 win against the Suns, he was asked what prepared him for this achievement. “I guess assistant coach doesn’t count to be able to make to the Western Conference Finals. But Frank Vogel is the easy answer. Frank Vogel prepared me for this,” Kidd said.
“And then also my early stops in Brooklyn and Milwaukee. Just understanding, putting guys in a position to be successful and then also listening to your star player if he wants to have fun, then let’s have fun.
“And accountability piece. Those are the words that we talked about this season. We hold each other accountable. It’s those words that we came up with. And no one’s exempt from them.
“There’s a lot of things I’ve learned in the last couple of years about coaching. You have to have talent too to win. That’s what I have in Dallas.”
Prior to taking the Dallas job Kidd spent two years with the Lakers as an assistant coach to Frank Vogel. He was part of the 2020 championship team.
