Mavs' Kidd: Wasn't Playing 'Mind Games' Calling Jaylen Brown Celtics' Best Player

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told The Athletic's Sam Amick that he wasn't playing "mind games" with the Boston Celtics when he called Jaylen Brown the team's best player over Jayson Tatum.

"It wasn't mind games," Kidd said, per Amick. "But for whatever reason, everybody took it that way. Everybody was speculating, and no one really asked me that.

"My whole thing was that, watching the Eastern Conference (playoffs), like, he has been (the Celtics' best player). No one ever said I was wrong. Even their player said I wasn't lying."

Kidd's original comments came after Brown led the Celtics with 22 points during Boston's Game 1 win over the Mavericks in the Finals.

"Well, Jaylen's their best player, so just looking at what he does defensively," Kidd said Saturday, per NBA TV. "He picked up Luka full-court. He got to the free-throw line. He did everything, and that's what your best player does... He plays both sides, defense and offense, at a high rate, and he's been doing that the whole playoffs."

Tatum was unimpressed with the comment, which he described as Kidd "trying to divide" the Celtics after their Game 1 win.

Boston guard Jrue Holiday initially seemed to have a different reaction, saying, "I don't think he's lying" in a Saturday appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio.

But Holiday walked back that response Monday after the Celtics' Game 2 win, saying the quote was taken "out of context."

"Just to address the comment yesterday, I do not prefer one or the other. I prefer both," Holiday said. "Both of them are superstars and it's being shown out here on the biggest stage in the world."

According to Amick, Kidd was "confused" as to why Holiday began his press conference by clarifying his comments.

"There must be some truth to it," Kidd said, per Amick. "I didn't know there was truth to it. Like, I was just giving it from a point of view of watching. There wasn't no mind games. I was just making an observation."

Kidd has also praised Tatum in his Finals postgame conferences, calling him "one of the best players in the world" after the Mavericks' Game 2 loss.

Both Tatum, who has leaned on his playmaking under the Mavericks' heavy coverage, and Brown, who stepped up as Tatum's shooting dipped, have been critical to the Celtics' 2-0 Finals lead. Boston's stars will hope to work toward a 3-0 grip on the series when Game 3 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET.