Luka Doncic's Ex-Coach Calls Jason Kidd The "Worst Guy" as Shocking Details Emerge

Before playing for JJ Redick and the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Doncic also played under the tutelage of NBA legend Jason Kidd with the Dallas Mavericks. In the summer of 2021, the Mavs brought in Kidd as their head coach. It was a fitting move, especially after he helped Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki win the NBA title in 2011.

In Kidd's first year as a coach, he immediately found success, leading the Mavericks to the 2022 Western Conference Finals. While Dallas ultimately got eliminated by the Golden State Warriors, it was a good first run nonetheless. Despite the positive results from the head coach, former Mavericks assistant coach Igor Kokoskov, who trained Doncic in Slovenia when he was 18 years old, saw Kidd in a different light. Kokoskov revealed that he didn't have a good experience with Kidd.

"I didn't have a good experience with him, nor do I have a high opinion of him off the court or as a head coach," Kokoskov said in an interview with Eurohoops. "After that 1st year in Dallas, I got a call from Nash, inviting me to join Brooklyn. I was working for the worst guy in the NBA, and now I have a call from the best guy in the NBA."

Kokoskov reunited with Doncic when he joined the Mavericks coaching staff for the 2021-22 season. However, his experience working under Jason Kidd soured him on staying. In a recent interview on the "X's and O's Chat" podcast, Kokoskov revealed that despite telling Kidd directly he was there to serve the team rather than leverage his relationship with Doncic, Kidd remained unable to get past it, something Kokoskov described as a personal issue he wanted no part of. When the season ended, he left.

The move that followed was straightforward: Steve Nash, then still the Brooklyn Nets head coach, called Kokoskov and invited him to join his staff for the 2022-23 season. Kokoskov accepted, joining the Nets as an assistant coach.

Mavericks Parts Ways With Jason Kidd

After only five seasons of coaching the Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd is no longer the team's head coach. According to sources, Kidd and the Mavericks organization mutually agreed to his exit from the franchise.

New Mavericks president Masai Ujiri has decided it's time for a fresh start in Dallas. Despite Kidd reaching the Western Conference Finals in his first season and leading the franchise back to the NBA Finals in 2024, Ujiri, just weeks into the job, concluded that someone else is better suited to build the team into sustained contenders.

"As we evaluate the future of our basketball program, we believe this is the right moment for a new direction for our team," Ujiri told NBA insider Tim MacMahon. "We have high expectations for this franchise and a responsibility to build a basketball organization capable of sustained championship contention."

Earlier this September, Kidd found a new home, but he will still be in the Texas area. Kidd will be entering the 2026-27 season as the San Antonio Spurs' newest lead assistant coach.

Given the Spurs' recent success in reaching the 2026 NBA Finals, it'll be interesting to see how Kidd's experience as the Mavericks' head coach bolsters San Antonio's chances as a contender.