Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd made some eye-opening comments the day before Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals with his team facing a 1-0 series deficit to the Boston Celtics.
"Well Jaylen (Brown is) their best player," Kidd said at a press conference on June 8. "Just looking at what he does defensively, he picked up Luka (Doncic) full court, got to the free throw line, he did everything. That's what your best player does. He plays both sides, defense and offense, at a high rate. He's been doing that the whole playoffs. When you talk about the Eastern Conference MVP, it seems like he's continuing to pick up where he left off."
A lot of people interpreted these comments as Kidd attempting to drive a wedge between Celtics superstars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum by re-igniting the debate over which player is better/more important to Boston's success.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Kidd is adamant that wasn't his objective with those comments. He just thought Brown was playing really well.
"He was playing the best I think at the time. Some took it as I was trying to start something. But he had just won the Eastern Conference MVP, and then he ended up winning MVP of the Finals, so I don't know if I was wrong," Kidd told NBC Sports Bay Area reporter Monte Poole in a recent interview discussing the launch of Brown's Oakland XChange initiative.
"But as we know, the media sometimes can take it as I was trying to start something between Jayson and Jaylen, but it wasn't that. I was just making the comment that Jaylen is playing at a high level. So it wasn't that I was starting anything. But Jaylen was playing his best basketball at the right time. I made that comment and some took it as I was trying to start something, but I wasn't."
More Celtics coverage
Brown averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.8 blocks and 1.6 steals per game in the series. He scored 30 points in Game 3 and hit a clutch jumper late in the fourth quarter of that win. Brown was voted Finals MVP after the Celtics eliminated the Mavs in Game 5 to win their 18th championship.
After bringing back nearly the same roster that just won the Finals, Kidd acknowledges that the Celtics remain the team to beat.
"You gotta go through Boston. They won it this past season and they're built to compete for another one," Kidd said. "You gotta beat the defending champs. I'm happy they're in the East.
"Hopefully we can see them again, but it's going to be a tough season because there are so many talented teams. Hopefully we're one of the teams where if Boston gets there, we can see them again."
Check out NBC Sports Bay Area's Dubs Talk Podcast to hear more of Brown's conversation with Poole.