Kokoškov: Jason Kidd Is 'Worst Guy in NBA'

Igor Kokoškov has called Jason Kidd "the worst guy in the NBA," saying his time working under him was nothing like the reputation Kidd built as a player.

The Serbian coach, who spent a season on Kidd's staff in Dallas before joining Steve Nash's, drew a sharp line between Kidd the point guard and Kidd the coach and person.

"He was one of my favourite players and one of the greatest point guards in history. I loved the Princeton offence precisely because of Kidd. But Jason Kidd the player and Jason Kidd the coach and person are two completely different stories. My experience working with him was not a good one, and I don't have a high opinion of him off the court or as a head coach either. And it's fine if people know that. This isn't just my opinion. I remember after that first year in Dallas, when the season ended, Steve Nash called me and invited me to join Brooklyn. And I caught myself thinking: only yesterday I was working for the worst guy in the NBA, and now the best guy in the NBA is calling me. It was an incredible contrast. He was jealous of Dončić. To illustrate: after a year, I sat Jason down and said: 'Look, I have a history with Luka, I know him well. We've worked together, and that can definitely help the team. But I'm not here to work for Luka. I work for you. This is your team.' Still, he never got past that. It was in his head — part of his own issues, and I didn't want to get drawn into that," said the former coach.

Kokoškov also said Kidd had simply been fortunate throughout his career to inherit "very talented teams" at good stages of their development, pointing to Milwaukee with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dallas with Dončić.