Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd is now a savvy, respected veteran

Jason Kidd is a true graybeard, and it took 76ers coach Doug Collins to point out how long the Dallas Mavericks point guard has been making an impact on the basketball court.

It turns out that Collins first met him when Kidd and Chris Collins, son of the coach, competed together in the McDonald's All-American Game as high school seniors.

Chris Collins is now an assistant coach at Duke.

When this was brought up to Kidd, he smiled. Now in his 18th NBA season, Kidd turns 39 next month and has heard his share of old-man jokes. He entered Friday having played 1,287 games, most among active NBA players.

The secret?

"I think having the right teammates helps," he said after the Mavericks shootaround in preparation for Friday's game at the Wells Fargo Center against the Sixers. "Being able to have guys like Dirk [Nowitzki], Jason Terry, Shawn [Marion], and Vince [Carter]."

Kidd had been to the NBA Finals and lost twice with the New Jersey Nets before winning his first title last year with Dallas. He has great respect and appreciation for Sixers president Rod Thorn. Kidd was traded from the Nets to Dallas in February 2008, when Thorn was the team president of New Jersey.

"I had a great time in New Jersey, and we had two opportunities that we came up short, and Rod did me a big favor and helped me get to Dallas," Kidd said. "I always have thanked him, and he has always been a good friend even after my departure from New Jersey."

A 10-time all-star, Kidd has been a favorite of Collins' since the point guard's high school days. Collins described him as a great leader with the highest of basketball IQs.

"There is no player who knows the game in the NBA better than he does," Collins said. " . . . He is a Hall of Famer, a champion, and he is a tremendous player."

Kidd was sidelined for 10 of the first 20 games with injuries and entered Friday night averaging 4.7 points, 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals.

While he has slowed down considerably, Kidd still knows how to run an offense and was an integral part of last year's championship team. He has always been known more for his playmaking skills and has a career assist average of 8.9 per game.

"Being a passer can keep you in the league a lot longer," Kidd said. "If I was a scorer I'd probably be out of the league a long time ago."

He expects this abbreviated season to last long again for the Mavericks, who took a 19-11 record into Friday's game.

"This team is just as deep as last year," Kidd said. "We're probably little older, but wiser, and our experience comes into play."

Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at mnarducci@phillynews.com, 856-779-3225, or @jnard on Twitter.