Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki recently guested on ex-Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s podcast, The Thanalysis Show to tell a lot of stories and share some of his thoughts. Among the subjects that were touched upon during the podcast that went a little over half an hour was former Bucks head coach and current Mavs mentor Jason Kidd.
When Antetokounmpo said that he thinks Kidd is the “closest thing to [a] European coach,” and that Kidd “has changed” since his time with the Bucks, Nowitzki appeared to agree (h/t Christopher Kuhagen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
The coach Kidd is now is different than he was back when he started with the Bucks team in 2014, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s second year.
“I heard some of the stories from Milwaukee,” Nowitzki said. “I think he was a little. … (The Bucks) were a young team at the time. He wanted control a little bit more.”
It can be recalled that Kidd was traded by the Brooklyn Nets as a coach to the Bucks in the summer of 2014. Then Bucks general manager John Hammond gushed over Kidd after the deal was completed.
“When you list the characteristics that make a successful head coach, you would include leadership, communication and a competitive drive,” Hammond said (via ESPN). “Jason used all of those traits to become a 10-time All-Star player in the NBA, and has now translated his on-court success to the bench. We welcome him to the Bucks organization and look forward to building a Championship-caliber team with him as our head coach.”
Despite the expectations, Kidd was never able to lead the Bucks to success in the postseason, going just 4-8 in the playoffs during his Milwaukee tenure.
Kidd coached the Bucks from 2014 to 2018 when he was fired by Milwaukee after the team had a 23-22 start.
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