N E W Y O R K, Jan. 19 -- The professional basketball season is not yet half over, but already there is a Cinderella team. The New Jersey Nets have already won as many games, 26, as they did all of last year.
In a league where high-flying, high-scorers grab most of the glory, this year's most valuable player may be Jason Kidd, a guy who would rather pass than shoot, and who barely gets off the ground.
"Who cares who's the highest scorer or who had the best game that night, as long as we played as a team and we won," said Kidd, the Nets' point guard. "That's the bottom line."
And the new New Jersey Nets are winning. For the first time in years they're the top team in the NBA's Eastern Conference, and Kidd is a big reason why.
"The biggest difference obviously has been Jason Kidd," said Nets coach Byron Scott. "He just makes guys better."
And this year, the guys are better. Veteran players are healthy. There's a new center, and rookies contribute.
But the trade that brought Kidd from the Phoenix Suns this past summer was the final piece in the puzzle. Kidd, the low key leader, setting an example with his passing and defense.
"If you can't defend, if you can't rebound, if you don't play together you're not going to be a big winner," said Rod Thorn, the Nets' president.
Rough Patch
But Jason Kidd hasn't always felt like a winner. Last year he got himself in trouble off the court when he hit his wife in front of their two-year old son.
"We weren't getting along," said Kidd's wife, Joumana Kidd, said on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "It was just … a lot of arguments. And pretty much I think that day he just exploded."
She called 9-1-1 and Jason Kidd was arrested.
"I knew I did something terribly wrong, and with Joumana making that call, I knew what the consequences were, and I had to live up to the consequences and accept what I did," Jason Kidd said on Good Morning America.
He was suspended for several games and went through counseling.
