A big deal was made out of Kidd when he came out of college

SAN ANTONIO – A long time before a big deal was made out of players like Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving coming to the NBA, a big deal was made out of players like Jason Kidd coming to the NBA.

That was in 1994, when the Mavericks made Kidd the No. 2 overall pick in the draft behind Grant Hill. Kidd burst onto the NBA scene with a brash run-and-gun style and fancy passes that captivated Mavs fans and the NBA community.

“That was a long time ago,” said Kidd, whose team opened the regular season Wednesday with a 126-119 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. “As a collegiate who didn’t understand what 82 games were, I felt the season should have ended at 40 (games). We were exhausted.

“You’re playing against the best players in the world. For Luka, Kai and Victor, this is the biggest stage. So, Victor gets the opportunity to play against the best in the world.”

Kidd and Hill wound up being NBA co-Rookies of the Year, and each also enjoyed a Hall of Fame career. Now, Wembanyama is the latest rookie to whet the appetites of the NBA fans.

Indeed, there was a ton of buildup to Wednesday’s game on a worldwide basis. In fact, the Spurs’ public relations department issued over 200 credentials to media members representing eight different countries, as this game took on sort of a playoff type atmosphere.

“Victor has had lot of attention pointed toward him for a very long time, and that’s not going to change,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Fortunately for us, he’s a real mature prioritized young man and knows what he wants.

“He’s already a pro. He’s a professional. I don’t have to teach him what it means to be a pro. His parents and other coaches have already done that.”

The Spurs made Wembanyama the No. 1 overall pick of last June’s draft, and the 7-3 power forward from France is expected to be a generational player. On Wednesday, Wembanyama finished with 15 points and five rebounds in just 23 foul-plagued minutes.

“It’s one of 82,” Kidd said, referring to Wednesday’s game. “It’s the beginning of a journey, so I think everyone should be excited about seeing Victor starting his NBA career. I think it’s the same for Luka. He was in that same seat six years ago.

“Also, Kai was in that seat. So, we have guys who have been in that situation of everyone’s eyes are on them and seeing how they handle it. Again, Victor is going to handle it well. He’s very talented.”

Because of Wembanyama’s height and skill set, forward Grant Williams said he’s difficult to contain.

“When someone is that tall and lengthy and his ability to not only handle the ball but also his aggression shooting and the ability he’ll have putting pressure on the rim, you just have to play as hard as you possibly can,” Williams said. “There are guys like that across the league where you’re playing against a superstar and one of those kind of talents, you’ve got to make everything difficult for them. You can’t allow them to be comfortable, allow them to dictate the pace of play as well as dictate where they want to go.

“With Wemby you have to put a body on him, not allow him to get up the court and just be at his position, because if he gets to his spot there’s not much you can do.”

Kidd said because of players coming into the NBA of Wembanyama’s ilk, “The league is in a great place when you look at the international flavor for tonight’s game. It’s high. So, this is what the NBA is all about. I think the world’s watching. That’s just the way the game is — global. And yes, everyone’s here to see Victor.”

X: @DwainPrice