For Jason Kidd, all the early success that he is gaining as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks won’t be possible without being around Frank Vogel from the past. 

As such, the hall of famer gave his own credit on the ex-Los Angeles Lakers coach for helping him to adjust and understand his current ball club. 

“Yeah, I guess assistant coach doesn’t count to be able to make it to the Western Conference Finals, but Frank Vogel, it’s an easy answer, Frank Vogel prepared me for this and then also my early stops in Brooklyn and Milwaukee,” Kidd said, via Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation. “Just understanding, putting guys in a position to be successful and then also listening to your star player, he wants to have fun so let’s have fun. And the accountability piece, those are the words that we talked about this season and that’s what 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, but you have to have talent too to win and that’s what I have here in Dallas.”

In 2019, Kidd joined the Lakers’ coaching brass and served under Vogel’s leadership. They eventually claimed the franchise’ 17th title in the league’s resumption of 2019-2020 season within the Disney Bubble. 

Perhaps having a familiarity with LeBron James in L. A., Kidd found a great partnership with Mavs superstar Luka Doncic in his first year handling the drawing board in Texas. Now, both of them are trying to lead Dallas to their second NBA crown. 

From the guidance of Kidd, the Mavs rose to power and became a Western Conference powerhouse this season. They outlasted the league-leading Phoenix Suns in West Semis and now gearing against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. 

Toppling the Warriors is a daunting challenge to deal with, but Kidd certainly has high hopes that he can push his club back to the NBA Finals since 2011 — the year wherein he won his coveted ring as a cager alongside franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki.