Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973, in San Francisco, California) is an American professional basketball player. He currently plays for the New Jersey Nets, after playing for the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns.

He is currently the starting point guard and captain for the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association. He led the Nets to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances (2002 and 2003) and is considered to be one of the best players of his generation, one of the greatest playmakers in NBA history and also one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. His on-court versatility also makes him a regular triple-double threat, and he is in third place all-time for triple-doubles in the NBA with a career total of 85 (as of March 4, 2007).

Kidd was born in San Francisco, the oldest of three children of Steve and Anne Kidd. His father is African-American and his mother Irish Catholic. He was raised in the Oakland hills, an upper middle class section of Oakland, just outside San Francisco, California. He attended St. Paschal's Baylon school in the Oakland Hills. He frequented the city courts of Oakland, where he often found himself pitted against future NBA All-Star Gary Payton. The two still reminisce about the playing days of their youth. During his youth, Kidd also excelled in soccer as well as other sports.

After graduating from St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California, where he also led his team to back-to-back California Division 1 state titles, Kidd attended the University of California, Berkeley. His successful collegiate career as a star point guard was topped off by his selection as a First Team All-American during his sophomore year, after which Kidd subsequently opted to enter the NBA Draft in 1994.

He was selected as the second pick overall by the Dallas Mavericks, behind Glenn Robinson of Purdue. In his first year he averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 7.7 assists, sharing 1995 NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons. He was a member of the "Three J's" in Dallas along with Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn, and many hoped that the trio would lead Dallas to success for years to come; however, that plan did not come to fruition, as all three found themselves playing for other teams shortly thereafter. Kidd was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer for Michael Finley, A.C. Green, and Sam Cassell during the 1996-97 season. In 2001, after five seasons in Phoenix in which the team made the playoffs each year under Kidd, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets for Stephon Marbury. While in Phoenix Kidd had a McDonald's hamburger named after him, called the Jason Kidd Burger.

In January 2001, Jason Kidd was arrested and pleaded guilty to a domestic abuse charge for assaulting his wife Joumana in anger. As part of his plea, Kidd was ordered to attend anger management classes for six months. Kidd completed the mandatory counseling and continued to attend on his own and it was reported that Kidd has since given up alcohol. He and his wife were both active in their church and were thought to have completely reconciled. On January 9, 2007, Jason Kidd filed for divorce against his wife, citing "extreme cruelty" during their relationship. On February 15, Joumana filed a counterclaim for divorce, contending that the NBA star--among countless instances of abuse--broke her rib, damaged her hearing by smashing her head into the console of a car, and threw a cookie into her face, frisbee-style. The couple have three children (Trey Jason (T.J.), and twins Miah and Jazelle).

In January 2007, Kidd got fined $20,000 dollars for calling a group of referees including head referee Dan Crawford the Three Blind Mice after a controversial call that caused a 101-102 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Jason Kidds other Children:

Jason Alexander Kidd (Mother)Alexandria Brown

Cheyenne Kidd (Mother)Tgia Jones
Source : Wikipedia