This feature originally appeared in the Winter edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.

It may be his biggest assist in Blue and Gold.

Jason Kidd, an NBA champion and 10-time All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and one of the greatest Golden Bears in history, will endow The Jason Kidd Scholarship for men's basketball at California with a seven-figure financial gift.
 
"We are immensely grateful to Jason and his family for this inspirational gift," Director of Athletics Mike Williams said of the commitment of over $1 million, an amount which earns Kidd distinction as a Builder of Berkeley. "With this endowed scholarship, Jason Kidd is taking a leadership role in showing everyone in the Cal family how we can provide life-changing experiences for a student-athlete."
 
Kidd, who in November tipped off his third season at the helm of the Bucks, took a pause in his team's busy schedule to describe his passion and pride for Cal, and the philanthropic spirit behind his gift.
 
"Cal has always been home. Growing up in the Bay Area and then being able to attend Cal, I had two of the most incredible years there and I've always taken pride in wearing the Cal shirt and being able to say I'm a Golden Bear," said Kidd, who arrived from St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda as two-time state champion and consensus high school player of the year. "The vision behind The Jason Kidd Scholarship endowment is to help the next youth player and family. Being able to give back to the community and to a great school like Cal is a dream come true for me and my family."
 
Kidd propelled the Bears to consecutive NCAA Tournaments in his two-year collegiate career and has positively impacted every team on which he has participated over the course of his professional career, an odyssey that has also seen thousands of individuals have their lives benefit from Kidd's community involvement. With this gift, Kidd is now paving the way for future student-athletes to join the Cal family and carry their experiences forward into the world.
 
"The impact we hope to make with the scholarship is to take away the financial stress in order to allow a young man to focus on his education and his craft," Kidd said. "This is an opportunity for me to help a student-athlete be able to focus on school and play basketball at a high level."
 
The gift marks a superlative milestone for Kidd, whose talent and work ethic have earned a dazzling array of accolades, including 10 NBA All-Star selections, nine NBA All-Defensive Team nods, five All-NBA first-team selections, the No. 5 spot among the NBA's all-time three-point shooters, two Olympic gold medals, the NBA's No. 2 all-time mark in assists and steals, 1995 NBA Rookie of the Year co-honors and the 2011 NBA title.
 
As a freshman at Cal in 1992-93, Kidd recorded a school-record 110 steals to lead the nation as he propelled the Bears to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, beating LSU and defending champion Duke on his way to being named the National Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, he posted a single-season school record of 272 assists, and his 204 career steals over those two seasons remain the most in program history. Kidd was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, and in 2004, he was inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor and saw his No. 5 Cal jersey retired at Haas Pavilion.
 
While no Golden Bear will ever wear Kidd's jersey again, the scholarship in his name forges a permanent link to student-athletes of the future sparking great gratitude from the current team.
 
"It means a lot," said junior guard Brandon Chauca. "For players on this team, it was our dream to get a Division I scholarship and once you get it, it's a dream come true."
 
Kidd's commitment to the future of another student-athlete, Chauca added, demonstrates the kind of vision that he and other players hope to emulate themselves. "When someone has given you the opportunity to come here, it only seems right to give back," Chauca said. "A lot of us would not be here if it weren't for these scholarships. These very gracious people have been successful, and been successful in part because of the school. In seeing their giving, it makes us very grateful."
 
"We help men develop from young men and grow into men," said head coach Cuonzo Martin. "This is a great transition for our young guys to understand a guy of this magnitude, to give back the way he's giving back, his contributions not only financially but his time, his efforts and his energy. I think it speaks volumes."
 
As significant as it is to transform a young student-athlete's life with a scholarship opportunity, it is most crucial, Kidd explained, for people to support their University to the best of their individual abilities.
 
"It's very important to be able to give back," Kidd said. "You're giving someone a chance, a head start. Anybody who can give back, it always comes back to you. It's important that people who have attended Cal find some way, time or money, to support the University."
 
"Jason Kidd is already legendary on this campus," Williams said. "We know him very well as an all-time great basketball player and we've seen him in transformational roles as a player in the NBA and as a coach. The establishment of this scholarship endowment means that his name will be around forever in a different way, a way that shows his generosity, his commitment to Cal and Cal's future. Thank you, Jason, for giving us this opportunity to support Cal students, and Go Bears!"
 
Men's basketball, Cal Athletics and the University of California are thankful to Jason Kidd for his outstanding philanthropic leadership. To learn more about how to establish an endowed scholarship and support Cal's nearly 900 student-athletes – young men and women who strive for excellence in the classroom and the arenas of competition, earning 94 national championships in 16 different sports over an almost 150-year history, as well as more than 200 medals at the Olympic Games – please contact the Cal Athletics Fund by phone at (510) 642-2427 or email at CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu.