Mavs Coach Kidd Responds to Giannis Book Accusations

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd responded to the book about NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo that included unfavorable stories about his coaching.

DALLAS - The ascension to elite status that Giannis Antetokounmpo has achieved since entering the NBA has been a hot topic as of late. He added a successful championship run to his already impressive resume that features two MVPs. 

A book titled “Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP” by Mirin Fader was released earlier summer featured various stories from different stages of Antetokounmpo's career. ... Some of which included unfavorable recounts of then Bucks head coach Jason Kidd's coaching. 

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When asked by Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star Telegram about his thoughts on the New York Times bestseller ,Kidd explained he 'won't pay attention to it' since it's not from Antetokounmpo himself. 

"Did Giannis write it?" Kidd asked Engel. “I’m waiting for Giannis for when he writes it. I’m aware of [the book], but if it’s not from Giannis I won’t pay attention to it.”

Kidd explained he still has a close relationship with Antetokounmpo, which comes with little surprise. Antetokounmpo went out of his way to credit Kidd during the post-game press conference after winning the 2021 NBA Finals with the Bucks. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo gave a shout out to Mavs coach Jason Kidd in his post-game press conference explaining how Kidd helped his development.

On ESPN's The Jump, Kidd shared his thoughts on Giannis' praise and on the two-time MVP leading the Bucks to a championship. pic.twitter.com/W3IXfWWGkf

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) July 22, 2021

There was some additional context from Engel's account of his conversation with Kidd about the book. Kidd explained how a couple of the people who were quoted in the book called him after its release. 

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Kidd also explained that his relationship with Antetokounmpo is so close that the two spoke with each other a couple of hours after the birth of Antetokounmpo's son. 

“The cool thing is my relationship with Giannis goes beyond basketball,” Kidd said. “I talked to him a couple of hours after his son was born. Cool little name, ‘Maverick.’

“See, you guys didn’t know that. That’s how close we are.”

Kidd is entering the third stint of his NBA coaching career and it will be a pivotal one. He faces a prime opportunity to show that his personnel management style has changed and that his on-court strategy is conducive to winning basketball games, as is the case with any coach.

Replacing former head coach Rick Carlisle, who spent the previous 13 seasons in the job, will be no easy task for Kidd. Having Luka Doncic as a franchise-cornerstone with solid talent around him will undoubtedly help his efforts, however.