| Advertisement |
Jason Kidd announced Tuesday that the 2012-2013 NBA season was his last, CBS Sports reported. "My time in professional basketball has been an incredible journey, but one that must come to an end after 19 years," Kidd said in a statement.
Advertisement
The shoe-in future Hall of Fame inductee, 40, is one of the best point guards in league history. He is known as a leader in the locker room and a risk-taker on the court. CBS Sports credits Kidd for creating the "athletic creator role" that exists today in Tony Parker and Derrick Rose. After an injury, he lost speed and perfected his three-point shot, earning the No. 3 spot in all-time three-pointers.
His career started at age 18 with the Mavericks after being selected with the 1994 overall No. 2 draft pick. He later played for the Phoenix Suns, the New Jersey Nets and finished after two years with the New York Knicks.
Kidd signed a three-year contract with the Knicks just last summer, but his struggles this season had analysts predicting his time in the league was nearly over, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson barely played Kidd in the last two games of his career as they fell to the Indiana Pacers in round two. In fact, Kidd missed the last 18 shots he took and did not score in his final 10 games.
With his departure, he leaves a draft pick for a younger Knick. With Kidd's $3.1 million salary, though, the Knicks are unlikely to get the star power Kidd once provided, according to the New York Times.
