Mavs’ Jason Kidd talks Popovich’s Olympic team, Luka Doncic and hiring Igor Kokoskov

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has faith the U.S. men’s basketball team will win gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

If Luka Doncic and Slovenia don’t take it, that is.

Kidd, who was named the Mavs new coach earlier this month, threw out the first pitch before the Texas Rangers played the Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday at Globe Life Field.

He was decked out in a white No. 2 Rangers jersey. His pitch was decent, although it probably would have plunked a right-handed batter in the thigh.

Kidd confirmed reports that Doncic’s former European League coach Igor Kokoskov as an assistant.

“I put him on the genius map offensively,” Kidd said of Kokoskov, the head coach of the Serbian National Team who was an assistant coach in the NBA from 2000-2020, including the Suns head coached in 2018-19. “I think he’s a great coach so to have him as a teammate I’m very lucky.”

Kidd, who won five gold medals with the U.S. national team, including gold in the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Games, believes Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich can lead them to another gold medal, despite a loss to France.

“They’re just a little rusty. In Pop we trust. Pop will get them right,” he said. “Sometimes to put a team together it takes some time to get chemistry. Hopefully that loss against France wakes us up that we [need] a little more of a sense of urgency. We can’t wait, and hopefully we do that in our next game.”

About eight hours after Kidd’s comments at Globe Life Field, Team USA led Iran 60-30 at halftime.

Kidd stayed up late Sunday night to watch his Mavs superstar Doncic lead Slovenia to a win. Doncic scored 48 points.

“Luka was incredible the other night,” he said. “I think everybody in Dallas stayed up to watch and he didn’t disappoint. I’ve texted him to tell him I love watching him play.”