The Dallas Mavericks announced Tuesday that they have mutually agreed to part ways with head coach Jason Kidd, ending his five-season run on the bench and closing the latest chapter in a long history with the franchise that included a 2011 championship and a trip to the NBA Finals as head coach.
The move came under new Mavericks President Masai Ujiri, who joined the organization earlier this month.
“Jason has had a meaningful impact on the Dallas Mavericks, both as a Hall of Fame player and as the head coach who helped lead this franchise back to the NBA Finals,” Ujiri said in a statement released by the team Tuesday evening. “We are thankful for Jason’s leadership, his professionalism and his commitment to the team. In my short time here, I’ve developed an enormous amount of respect for what he has built. He will always be an important part of the Mavericks family.”
Ujiri made it clear the team is ready to turn the page following a 26-56 finish in the 2025-26 season, the franchise’s worst record since 2017-18.
“As we evaluate the future of our basketball program, we believe this is the right moment for a new direction for our team,” Ujiri added. “We have high expectations for this franchise and a responsibility to build a basketball organization capable of sustained championship contention. We will conduct a thorough, disciplined search for our next head coach and continue to evaluate our entire basketball operations staff to ensure we compete at the standard Mavs fans expect and deserve.”
The organization described Kidd in its statement as “a Mavericks champion, Hall of Famer and coach who helped lead this franchise back to the NBA Finals.”
Kidd took over as head coach in June 2021 following Rick Carlisle’s departure and finished his tenure with a 205-205 regular-season record, per ESPN. His most successful stretch came alongside Dončić, guiding Dallas to the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024.
The Mavericks’ success took a sharp turn after the February 2025 trade that sent Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a package centered on Anthony Davis. The trade never produced the turnaround Dallas hoped for, with Davis spending much of his time in Dallas on the bench before being dealt to the Washington Wizards. Dallas continued to miss the playoffs, and Nico Harrison, widely seen as the man who orchestrated the deal with the Lakers, was out the door by November.
Kidd had just signed a fresh multiyear extension in October, but that apparently did not mesh with Ujiri’s idea of a reset. The team said the search for a new coach will begin immediately.
Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard and a clutch contributor to the franchise’s 2011 championship, leaves Dallas after serving the organization across multiple chapters: as an All-Star guard, a veteran champion, and finally as head coach.
