He doesn’t joke.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd unleashed an expletive-filled tirade following Dallas’ 111-107 loss to the Rockets on Saturday after being asked about “national criticism” surrounding his use of teen phenom Cooper Flagg.
The lanky 6-foot-2 rookie, selected first overall out of Duke in the 2025 NBA Draft, has played point guard for much of the season despite being a natural forward.
“I don’t care about the criticism. Criticism? That’s your opinion. You guys write that crap,” Kidd shot back during his post-match press conference. “That’s not… I’ve done this. I’ve played this game. I’ve played it at a very high level. I know what I’m doing.”
“But I don’t care what you guys write. Because you’ve never played the game. And so I build players. So I know what I’m doing. So to take criticism only makes me better. Because if I didn’t do it right, you wouldn’t pick any holes in what I did.”
The Hall of Famer and Nets legend declined to answer further questions before storming off.
The 19-year-old Flagg struggled early in the season as the Mavericks’ starting point guard while superstar Kyrie Irving was still recovering from a torn ACL.
The Mavericks also experimented with former Nets guard D’Angelo Russell at the position, but getting Flagg off the ball has paid off in recent games.
Fresh off a historic 49-point performance on Thursday – the most points scored in a single game by a teenager in NBA history – Flagg followed it up with another gem on Saturday, with 34 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Flagg’s 83 points are the most points scored by a teenager over a two-game span in NBA history.
In 45 games this season, Flagg is averaging 19.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Mavericks, and has recorded a double-double in three of his past four games.
However, those performances haven’t translated into wins as Dallas has dropped four in a row.
Kidd, in his fifth season as Mavericks head coach, also was the referee in Saturday’s loss, mainly because of Flagg’s possible tie at the end of regulation time.
“I saw a foul,” Kidd said angrily. “[Officials] Sean [Wright]Simone [Jelks] and Jason [Goldenberg] were terrible tonight. The referees were unacceptable. It’s a foul and he has to be at the free throw line.
“Does he score both? That’s up to the player, but the referees didn’t do their job. They were terrible.”
Dallas’ season was marked by injuries and inconsistency. The Mavericks occupy 11th place in the Western Conference at 19-30, four games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the final play-in spot.
Star forward Anthony Davis — acquired last season in the shocking Luka Doncic trade — has been sidelined for much of the year with a slew of injuries amid a flurry of trade rumors.
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