Mavs HC Jason Kidd on Suns’ Chris Paul: He’s ‘perfected the PG position’

Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul and Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd are no strangers on the basketball court.

Paul’s first ever playoff series on the New Orleans Hornets was against Kidd and the Mavericks in 2008. The Hornets won the series 4-1.

Now, the pair are once again sharing the hardwood, with Paul leading the Suns and Kidd coaching the Mavericks in their second round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. Phoenix currently leads 1-0, with Game 2 slated for Wednesday night.

Fourteen years later, Kidd is still seeing that similar style of play Paul possessed back then but on another level.

“I don’t know if a lot has changed. He’s just perfected the point guard position,” Kidd said on Saturday. “As you get more reps and you see different defenses, you start to understand what you have to do, and he knows how to move the pieces to get that advantage.”

Paul was fond of the moments that he and Kidd had when playing with and against each other and above all else, respects the guard-turned-coach for his contributions to the game.

“We were at two completely different points in our careers and that’s what I appreciate the most about ‘J'” Paul said Wednesday.

“We played together on the Olympic team right after that in 2008. A couple of years later he won (an NBA Final.) I’ve always appreciated the guys who are able to change the way they play.”

The two are relatively close on some of the NBA’s all-time leaderboards.

Kidd, a former Suns, currently sits second in all-time assists and steals for his career.

Paul is in third for assists and fourth for steals. He’s got some ground to make up, however, trailing Kidd by 1,114 assists and 231 steals.

Catch all of the Game 2 action between the Suns and the Mavericks from Footprint Center at 7 p.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.