DALLAS — In 1994, Jason Kidd left California Berkeley after his second season and was drafted No. 2 overall by the Mavericks.
Last month, at age 48, Kidd quietly earned a degree in English from the University of Phoenix. In August, Kidd told The Dallas Morning News that he was nearing completion of his final online class.
Kidd said he received his diploma in the mail, immediately framed it and displayed it in his home office.
“It’s something that will be up there [in importance] with the gold medals and the championship,” said Kidd, who earned Olympic gold medals with Team USA in 2000 and 2008 and won the 2011 NBA championship as the Mavericks’ starting point guard.
Kidd said he was partly inspired by a University of Phoenix commercial featuring former Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Kidd said he recently thanked Fitzgerald. Kidd said he was fortunate that he was able to complete much of his coursework while serving as a Lakers assistant coach.
“I want to thank the University of Phoenix for being able to help me achieve that goal,” Kidd said, adding with a laugh: “Homeschooling is tough when you have kids.”
Kidd already had been a head coach in Brooklyn and Milwaukee, so, clearly, a college diploma isn’t a prerequisite for being an NBA head coach. So why did Kidd it was so important?
“When you talk to our younger generation and you talk about how important education is, there had started to be questions about ‘Did you graduate?’ I had to shake that question a couple of times. Now I don’t have to avoid that question.”
