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Simmons, Howard/New York Daily News
The Nets raise Jason Kidd’s No. 5 into the rafters at the Barclays Center.
On the night Jason Kidd’s No. 5 was retired, undoubtedly as the greatest Net in the franchise’s NBA history, the coach started his media session with a crack.
“They canceled it,” he said, drawing laughs.
About two hours later, he was the star attraction of a ceremony lasting 10 minutes, avoiding tears and much emotion. Kidd still had a job to do, after all, as the star-turned-coach.
Rod Thorn, the former GM who orchestrated the trade that brought Kidd to New Jersey, roused the crowd by speaking about the team’s transformation with Kidd as the point guard, from basement dweller to a two-time NBA finalist.
Kidd spoke last, and then watched with his wife as the blue-and-white jersey was raised near center court.
Prior to the ceremony, Kidd reiterated that he wanted this at a preseason game so that it couldn’t distract him from his duties and focus.
“I don’t know if anyone has had their number retired and had to go to work,” Kidd said.
Reminded that Mariano Rivera did it recently, Kidd, who is suspended for the first two regular season games because of his July DUI conviction, quickly made sense of difference.
“But Mariano gets to sit in the bullpen for a little bit. And he’s done it for 20 years. I’m a rookie coach.”
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The ceremony was held prior to in front of an expected sellout at the Barclays Center, a stark contrast to the atmosphere at Jason Kidd’s first game with the Nets. He became the sixth to have their jersey retired by the franchise, but only Julius Erving, who played with the Nets in the ABA, could hold a candle to the point guard.
“I used to enjoy playing in the swamp (in East Rutherford),” Kidd said. “This place is a little bit better but we’ve had some big crowds in Jersey, opening night 4,000, 5,000, we were rocking. …No one thought we could win and we did and we continued to win and we just came short of that big trophy but we got there twice.”
LeBron James, who was teammates with Kidd at the 2008 Olympics, acknowledged Kidd’s greatness, specifically his leadership.
“What he did for this franchise, New Jersey, taking them to two straight NBA finals and changing the whole culture of what it means to be a team,” he said. “Jason will go down as one of the best, you just look at his numbers from three point shooting to assists to steals, to rebounds- he would rebound and go coast to coast. He was a bigger point guard. Like I said, when he came here he just changed the whole culture of Nets basketball.”
Kenyon Martin, who ran as Kidd’s sidekick for three seasons, couldn’t attend the ceremony because the Knicks were in Baltimore. But a day prior, he put Kidd in elite company.
“In my era or my day, or just period – me watching a lot of basketball and knowing a lot of basketball – J-Kidd’s in the top 3-4 point guards of all time,” Martin said Wednesday. “You have to say John Stockton, Magic, but he’s definitely in that class.
“Definitely the elite, great, first-ballot Hall of Fame point guards, you have to put him right up there. I think he’s earned it. Everything he gets, he’s earned.”
Dwyane Wade spoke to Kidd’s teaching skills, and his competitive nature.
“When I was a young guard coming in, Jason talked to me, helped me out coming with pointers,” Wade said. “After he sensed getting good, he stopped talking to me.”
