J-Kidd completed an interview recently with NBC in preparation for the Olympics, and Saturday, it appeared online.

Jason, who has never lost a game in international play — he is an astounding 44-0 — spoke about bringing the gold medal back to America, and just what will go into making that happen in August.

You guys rolled through everyone at the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament. What was it that worked with that team?

Well, I think there was no egos. Everybody was cheering for one another, everybody wanted everybody to be successful. And we played together, we played as a team. Everybody touched the ball. We had the top scorer in the league, we had guys that could score a lot of points but everybody was passing the ball and making the game so easy. And it was a lot of fun.

If all that talent and cohesion is there for Beijing, what is this team capable of?

I think we set the bar high and that’s to win a gold medal. And so, with that it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be competitive, there’s a lot of good teams. So were going to have our work cut out for us but it should be fun.

One of the reasons USA Basketball brought you back was for your leadership. In your words, how do you define that leadership?

Just talking to guys, understanding what the international game is all about, working hard, putting in the extra time to get better. And then again, just talking to guys like LeBron and Carmelo and Dwight and just helping those guys because there are going to be some calls that you probably would never see called but just to keep your composure. This is all about one goal, one team and that’s just to stay together.

You won gold in Sydney but did not play in Athens. What was it like watching that team in 2004?

I thought that we had a pretty good team going over. So to watch them not fulfill their goal — and that was to win a gold medal — was hard to watch. But the world’s getting better so it’s not going to be easy. The challenge for us is to get back to that pride and the fun of being dominant. It should be a great challenge.

Is that challenge why you came back to Team USA?

Well, I thought I could help. And I thought that I would love to be a part of trying to win another gold medal. Sydney was a great, close game in the gold (medal game) and it was just fun to represent your country. The Olympics is a great time.

For the complete interview, go to the link below.

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Speaking with Jason Kidd (NBCOlympics.com, July 12, 2008)
http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=507/qa/