UNLV Reportedly Interested in Hiring Ex-Cal star Jason Kidd Away From the Lakers

Is Jason Kidd — the greatest player in Cal basketball history — returning to the college game?

No, not to Berkeley.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Kid is emerging as a candidate for the head coaching position at UNLV. The Runnin’ Rebels have had a vacancy since their coach, T.J. Otzelberger, took a job at Iowa State two weeks ago.

Kidd, who turns 48 on Tuesday, has served as an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers since 2019 and was part of the staff that helped the franchise win the 2020 NBA championship last summer.

Sam Gordon of the Review-Journal wrote that UNLV officials are “intrigued” by Kidd as a possible replacement, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

Kidd was interested in the position two years ago before UNLV hired Otzelberger from South Dakota State to replace Marvin Menzies, according to Gordon.

Kidd, who played two seasons at Cal before entering the 1994 NBA draft, did not have a college degree two years ago. But the Review-Journal reports that two people familiar with the hiring process say he has since earned one.

Like most colleges, UNLV requires coaches to have at least a bachelor’s degree.

There's no question this would be fun for college basketball fans. Can you imagine the buzz in Berkeley if Cal were to host a UNLV team coached by Kidd?

Could it really happen?

Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard, had two stints as an NBA head coach. He was 44-38 and made the playoffs in 2013-14 with the Brooklyn Nets, then bolted to take the same position with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kidd had record of 139-152 in 3 1/2 seasons as the Bucks before he was fired when the team had a 23-22 mark midway through the 2017-18 campaign. He is credited with having an impact on the development of Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who reportedly offered to go to bat for Kidd with team officials at the time of his dismissal.

UNLV was a college basketball powerhouse — and one of the nation’s most glitzy and controversial programs — under the late Jerry Tarkanian. He coached the Rebels to 12 NCAA tournament appearances from the mid-1970s through the early 1990s, including a national championship in 1990.

The program isn’t what it once was. UNLV hasn’t played in the NCAAs since 2013, when it lost to Cal in the first round, and has not won a tournament game since 2008.

UNLV was 12-15 this season, including 8-10 in the Mountain West Conference. But the Rebels’ 2021 recruiting class ranks 16th nationally by 247Sports and 20th, according to Rivals. And Kidd's hiring would seem to give recruiting any program a huge boost.

Kidd was a legendary high school player at St.Joseph-Notre Dame in Alameda, and as freshman at Cal led the Beas to an upset of two-time defending national champion Duke in the 1993 NCAA tournament.

After earning consensus All-America honors as a sophomore in ’93-94, Kidd began his 19-year career in the NBA, during which time he was a 10-time All-Star, a five-time first-team All-NBA selection and a nine-time All-Defensive Team pick. He won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

Kidd averaged 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists for his career and ranks second all-time behind John Stockton in both career assists (12,091) and steals (2,684) and fourth in triple-doubles (107).

He won gold medals with the U.S. team at the 2000 and 2008 Olympics, finishing his international career with an undefeated record.

Cover photo Jason Kidd by Mark J. Rebilias, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo