The Dallas Mavericks have mutually agreed to part ways with head coach Jason Kidd.
The 53-year-old had been in charge for five seasons and led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals at the end of the 2023-24 season where they were beaten 4-1 by the Boston Celtics.
Since then Dallas has missed the playoffs in both of the last two seasons and Kidd was at the helm when the team infamously traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025.
The team finished 26-56 this season, despite No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg being named NBA Rookie of the Year.
The decision comes despite Kidd still reportedly having four years and more than $40million left on his Mavericks contract.
Kidd had a legendary career as a player and is regarded as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. The 10-time All-Star won an NBA Championship with the Mavericks in 2011, as well as two Olympic gold medals with Team USA.
The Dallas Mavericks have fired head coach Jason Kidd after five seasons in charge
The team finished 26-56, despite No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg winning Rookie of the Year
When the news broke on ESPN’s ‘Inside the NBA’, legend Charles Barkley described it as a ‘shocker’.
The decision comes just two weeks after the club hired former Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as team president and governor.
When asked about the future of Kidd at his introduction on May 5, Ujiri was noncommittal, saying he would talk to Kidd while evaluating all aspects of the team.
‘As we evaluate the future of our basketball program, we believe this is the right moment for a new direction for our team,’ Ujiri said in a statement.
‘We have high expectations for this franchise and a responsibility to build a basketball organization capable of sustained championship contention.’
Dallas becomes the fourth team with a coaching vacancy, joining Orlando, Chicago and Portland. The Trail Blazers were led by Tiago Splitter in an interim role this season.
Since the regular season ended, Milwaukee has hired Taylor Jenkins and New Orleans brought in Jamahl Mosley.
Of the 12 coaches to take teams to the NBA Finals since 2019, seven are no longer with those clubs – including four who won championships: Nick Nurse with Toronto in 2019; Frank Vogel with the Lakers in 2020; Mike Budenholzer with Milwaukee in 2021; and Michael Malone with Denver in 2023.
Kidd was at the helm when the team infamously traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers last February
The other coaches who went to the Finals since 2019 and are no longer with those teams: Monty Williams (Phoenix in 2021), Ime Udoka (Boston in 2022) and Kidd.
Kidd has a 388-395 record in nine-plus seasons as a head coach.
He became a coach immediately after retiring as a player, leading Brooklyn to the second round of the playoffs in 2013-14. He bolted for Milwaukee, where he was fired in the middle of his fourth season.
After two seasons as an assistant with the Lakers, including their 2020 title run in the playoff bubble with LeBron James and Davis, Kidd was hired by the Mavericks.
