Brooklyn Nets: Top 5 Postseason Series
By Zach Cronin
4. 2003 NBA Finals
I have yet to meet a majority of people who doubt the greatness of Jason Kidd. After his 19-year career, Kidd is one of the five greatest point guards ever to play the game, and you could argue his place among the top three. Nets fans were fortunate enough to enjoy his prime.
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He came over to New Jersey during the summer of 2001 and immediately took the Nets to the Finals in 2002 and 2003, proving how he could literally transform a team. The only thing Kidd didn’t do well was shoot, but if you surrounded him with scorers, he’d find them with ease.
The 2003 campaign was arguably the best of his career. Kidd finished with a career-high 18.7 points a night, led the league in assists with 8.9 a night, finished ninth on a loaded MVP ballot and was the NBA’s best two-way guard.
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Kidd’s torrid play continued through the postseason, and that included the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. The Nets fell in six to a team that was much better than them, but not before Kidd made history. By the end of the series, he had amassed 118 points, 47 assists and 37 rebounds. That collection of stats made him just the fourth player (at the time) to collect at least 100-45-35 in an NBA Finals. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Scottie Pippen were the other players on the list. (Since then, LeBron is the only other play to do so.)
It would’ve been a much more enjoyable achievement if Kidd had brought home the championship, but being listed alongside three Hall-of-Famers who are among the 15 greatest in NBA history is nothing to sulk over.