Like one of his signature fastbreaks, Jason Kidd made sure that his jersey retirement ceremony on Thursday night at the Barclays Center got the job done in a quick and efficient manner, while passing off credit to others and creating an easy transition back to the business at hand.

That business was winning basketball games and the Nets did so in convincing fashion with an 86-62 win over the two-time defending NBA Champion Miami Heat. The preseason matchup followed the ceremony, which celebrated Jason’s Nets and NBA career, culminating in the team raising his No. 5 jersey to the rafters in Brooklyn.

“The Nets did a wonderful job tonight with the retirement of the jersey,” he said. “It’s just an honor and a special moment, not just for me but for the Nets and also for my teammates.”

Though honored by the thought of having his jersey retired, Jason — forever a team player — had to be talked into having a pre-game ceremony for the occasion. As a first year coach, he didn’t want the distraction and felt that could prove to be a disservice to his players.

So J-Kidd and the Nets came to compromise. The ceremony would be held, but not before an important regular season game, as is custom. Instead they would do it before a preseason game to limit the disruption to the team. Jason made it clear before the game that the choice to conduct the ceremony in preseason was his, and should not be perceived as a slight. Afterward, he stuck by that choice.

“I’m glad we made the decision not to do it during the season,” he said. “There is a lot as a coach that you have to prepare for, especially against a team like this tonight. So I’m glad it’s over with. I was focused on my guys. It’s about them and I wasn’t going to shortchange them because of the retirement of the jersey.”

The Nets looked far from distracted by the honor and came out strong against the Heat, who started three of the five players expected to be in their opening night lineup, including two members of their vaunted “Big Three,” LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

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Despite having both those players in the lineup, Miami managed just 10 points — five each from Bosh and James — in the first eight minutes of the game against a Nets five of Shaun Livingston, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Brook Lopez. At the end of the first, the Nets led 24-16 and that lead was expanded to double digits in the second quarter, as Brooklyn went into the locker room at halftime in front 44-28.

Miami had a strong showing in the third, when they scored 25 points to cut into the lead, but the Nets buckled down in the fourth, limiting a collection of Miami reserves to just nine points in the final 12 minutes to secured the 24-point victory.

“I thought we got better tonight. This is still preseason, there’s still a lot for us to work on, but we’re sharing the ball, we’re trying to make the right play,” Coach Kidd said. “We protected the paint. They shot under 40 percent, something that is one of our goals. And guys shared the ball. The guys played hard. Nobody played over 30 minutes and everybody left the game healthy, that’s the most important thing.”

Lopez led all Nets players in scoring with 14 points, on 6-of-8 from the field, but his first comment after the game was about the ceremony and his coach.

“It was really an amazing experience. It’s an honor to have him as a head coach,” Lopez said. “He’s one of the best point guards of all-time and the best Nets player of all-time. So to be on the floor learning from him and working to achieve the same goal of winning a title, it’s an honor to me.”

Miami Heat v Brooklyn Nets

Lopez’s sentiment was shared around the locker room. Garnett, who played just 10 minutes as Coach Kidd aims to keep him fresh for the regular season, remarked that J-Kidd’s success with the Nets as a player and the way in which his play impacted the league made it fitting that his number be retired by the franchise.

“I was glad I was in the building just to be a part of something special,” KG said. “

[Jason] had an unbelievable run when he was here and I felt like it was only right. It shows a lot of class in the Nets organization, with hoisting his number up and showing their appreciation for Jason. I’m glad to say that I was here for that.”

Paul Pierce who, like Garnett, joined the Nets in a trade from Boston — where he will likely have his number sent to the rafters someday — echoed the response of his teammate about the honor of just being present for the ceremony.

“I saw a lot of Jason’s prime years while he played here in Jersey and I was a victim of some playoff losses. He broke my heart a couple years in a row when I was in Boston in the playoffs, where he was just unbelievable, averaged a triple-double and at that time I’d never been on the court playing against a player like that,” Pierce said. “He’s not only one the greatest Nets to play, he’s one of the greatest players in NBA history.”

Miami Heat v Brooklyn Nets
Nets point guard Deron Williams — a good friend of Jason’s since the two were teammates on the gold medal winning 2008 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball team — was unable to play in Thursday’s game due to a lingering ankle injury. Still Williams was also thrilled just to be in the arena as the franchise honored one of it’s all-time greats and one of his long-time favorites.

“He definitely deserves it. He’s one of the best to ever do it, one of the best to ever put on a Nets uniform,” Williams said. “For me, as a fan of his growing up and now as a player for him, it’s a great thing to see.”

Playing in Williams’ place on Thursday was point guard Shaun Livingston, who also grew up watching J-Kidd change the game. Livingston noted that when Kidd rejoined the Nets as head coach this summer, he reached out to Shaun to be a part of his team.

“I feel honored to be a part of that,” Livingston said of the ceremony. “He was instrumental in bringing me here and I respect his game, obviously. I play similar to him as far as a pass first type of guy. What he’s done for the game, he’s a surefire hall of famer.”

1017_CoachKidd2Throughout the night, the Nets played video tributes to Jason, including special messages from former teammates Kenyon Martin, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson and Dirk Nowitzki.

Other former teammates and Nets favorites were in attendance, including Kerry Kittles, Donny Marshall, Eddie Jordan and Buck Williams. Even former Nets GM Rod Thorn — the man who brought Jason to the Nets in a trade back in the summer of 2001 that changed the face of the franchise — was on hand.

Across the court, two other future Hall of Famers — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade — watched the ceremony intently. Like Williams, James and Wade got to know J-Kidd better on Team USA in 2008 and both agreed that his one of a kind NBA legacy deserved the honor.

“Obviously, getting your jersey retired is one of the biggest honors in sports,” Wade said before the game. “He’s one of the greatest to do it. I’m not into the rankings, but this is a guy who made an unbelievable impact on the NBA, where he went to high school and where he went to college. He was an unbelievable player and he gave it everything he had until he was ready to walk away from the game.”

James credits time spent watching Kidd and playing with him for Team USA in the summers of 2007 and 2008 with helping him mature to take the final steps he needed to as a player. He noted that Jason’s arrival to the Nets “changed the culture” of the team and said the ceremony was more than earned by “one of the best point guards to ever play the game.”

“I thought it was amazing,” James said of the ceremony afterward. “I know he is appreciative of it and it couldn’t happen to a better person. I think J-Kidd is a great and I’m happy for him. He will be able to look up there long after he is done coaching and see his name in the rafters forever.”

Miami Heat v Brooklyn Nets

For J-Kidd, the most enjoyment may have come out of the game itself, as — even without Williams — his Nets charges proved they could play on the level of the Heat, a distinction that could set the Nets up for a special year. With that and the pre-game ceremony in mind, Jason left the arena on Thursday night thankful for his past, represented by his jersey that will hang over the court from now on, and excited for the future and an opportunity to grow his Nets legacy even further.

“I want to thank the Nets organization,” he said. “As a player, you talk about winning championships, but this — being able to have your jersey retired — ranks right up there. It’s just a great honor.”

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