Social media recently uncovered a gem: a 16-year-old Sam Presti vouching for the Boston Celtics to draft Jason Kidd in 1994.
Presti campaigned via the Boston Globe why the Celtics should draft Kidd. He mentioned his playmaking and basketball IQ as reasons they should add him to their roster.
The Celtics didn’t have a chance to prove Presti right or wrong. Kidd was taken with the No. 2 pick by the Dallas Mavericks and the Celtics settled for Eric Montross with the No. 9 selection.
While researching Pipeline to the Pros, we found the earliest document of Sam Presti's team-building philosophy – a letter to the editor in the Boston Globe on 4/10/94.
Presti argued it was time to "clean house," "clear salary room," and draft JKidd
He was just 16 years old. pic.twitter.com/F3OCtaOgwJ
— Ben Kaplan (@bkaplan4) April 19, 2024
Before the Thunder’s Game 1 win over the Mavericks, Kidd, who is now the Dallas head coach, agreed with Presti’s assessment from 30 years ago.
“He was right,” Kidd joked.
The 10-time All-Star enjoyed a successful career as one of the best point guards of his era. A second stint with the Mavericks as a player was rewarded with a championship in 2011.
Kidd hopes to bring Dallas another ring but as the head coach. In his third season, this might be his best shot yet to realize his ambition.
Kidd coaches arguably the best star duo in the league. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving had a monster postseason debut in their first-round win over the LA Clippers. Each averaged 25-plus points.
They’ll need to continue to do that against the Thunder, who Kidd has had his fair share of postseason battles as a former player. The Mavericks defeated OKC in the 2011 Western Conference finals en route to a championship. The next year, OKC avenged the loss by sweeping Dallas in the first round.
The one constant from those 2011 and 2012 Thunder squads and this season’s is Presti. He’s one of the longest-tenured GMs in the league and is widely considered one of the best in his business.
Kidd praised the Thunder’s general manager, saying he’s done an incredible job at cracking open another championship window with this second iteration of OKC.
“It’s amazing what he has built here,” Kidd said. “Not just this team, but the teams that have come before this. He has an eye for talent and has done it at a very high level.”
Jason Kidd talked about the viral clip of a young Sam Presti writing to a local Boston paper asking the Celtics to draft him
Jokingly said he was right and proceeded to praise the job he’s done in OKC pic.twitter.com/3x8kbpziX2
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 8, 2024
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