" Throughout the playoffs, Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd maintained the same low-key stance about how a title would change his legacy.

The 17-year veteran said he had accomplished so much in basketball -- a 10-time All-Star, an Olympic champion and already a certain Hall of Famer -- that there was no way he could say it would be incomplete.

And because he had been disappointed so many times before, he certainly wouldn't say his career was invalid without an NBA title.

He didn't waver in the unbridled joy and exuberance following the Mavericks' Game 6 win over the Miami Heat, which gave Kidd and the Mavericks their first title.

"I think the biggest thing is I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time," Kidd said. "There are a lot of great players who haven't won championships, and I don't know that it really defines them as a loser. I think that when you look at who has won championships, that's not a lot of teams. The Lakers, Boston and San Antonio, I think, are the only teams who have won championships in the last seven years. I might be off, might be missing a team."

Of course, the team missing was Miami in 2006.

"Oh, and Miami. My bad," Kidd said to a chorus of laughter. "I knew I was missing one more. And Miami. So, when you come into this league, you feel you are going to win a championship, but now when you look at it closer, it's very hard to do."

Regardless of whether Kidd believes it or not, the only blemish on what has been a truly remarkable career has been removed.

Kidd -- who is second in the NBA all-time in assists and third in steals and 3-point field goals made -- is now a champion. Finally.

He is not the same dominant player he was when he led the New Jersey Nets to consecutive Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.

But his mind for the game remains sharp and he can still pass the ball and play defense as well as anyone. Kidd's ability to control the game and run an offense is the reason the Mavericks were at their best in the fourth quarter."