Retire in Paradise

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The Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd is thought to be one of the best basketball layers currently active in the NBA. Before joining the Mavericks, Kidd led the New Jersey Nets to the NBA finals in 2002 and 2003.

He started his NBA Career with the Dallas Mavericks, went to play for Phoenix, and was traded to New Jersey before returning back to Dallas in February, 2008. In April, 2008, he achieved his 100th career triple-double in the final regular season game.

Born in San Francisco, the oldest of 6 children, Jason Kidd would often play on the public city basketball courts in the Oakland area and often against NBA All-Star Gary Payton. The two still talk about those early days.

Jason Kidd earned the Naismith Award while playing for his high school team, being ranked as the top high school player in the nation. He went to college at UC-Berkeley where he also played basketball. He was a finalist for the Naismith and the Wooden Awards as a college player. When he left to enter the NBA draft in 1994, his #5 jersey was retired.

Kidd’s achievements are impressive: he was a member of the All-NBA First team from 1999 to 2002 and in 2004, is a one time NBA All-Star and won 2003’s NBA Skills Challenge Championship. As if this weren’t enough, he also was a member of the 1995 NBA All-Rookie First Team and made the All Defensive First and Second Teams from 1999 to 2007!

In 2008, Jason Kidd was on the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal winning US Men’s Basketball team, along with other basketball greats, who went undefeated. In USA Basketball, he has an undefeated record of 56-0 including exhibition games. He has brought home a total of five gold medals, in his Olympic participations of 2000 and 2008 games.

While Jason’s NBA career was on the right track, his personal life was not. In January of 2001, he was arrested and pleaded guilty to domestic abuse on his wife. He was ordered to attend anger management and counseling. He gave up alcohol, and it was reported that they had reconciled.

In 2007 he filed for divorce from his wife, claiming jealousy, paranoia and threats to report fabricated abuse charges. His wife counter filed on the grounds of abuse. They have since divorced, but have three children together.

A year later, reports emerged that Jason Kidd and model Hope Dworaczyk were expecting a child.

While he may have had personal problems, Kidd’s record on the court is indisputable. Kidd is one of two players in the NBA to amass a career scoring total of more than 14,000 points, 9,000 assists and 6,600 rebounds. Jason Kidd is also (along with Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson) one of only three players in NBA history who has averaged triple-doubles in multiple playoff games. In fact, he is one of the league’s all-time leaders on double triples, behind only Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson - it should be no surprise that Kidd was named the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year in 2007.

Jason Kidd is nothing if not an accomplished player, having set records and made great achievements in the NBA and as an Olympian. He is also a humanitarian, sponsoring youth programs in the greater Dallas- Ft. Worth area.

Tags: Travel & Leisure