NBA Superstar Jason Kidd Joins the EA SPORTS Squad for NBA LIVE 2003
Posted by Ben on Tuesday, July 23 2002

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 17, 2002--Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) and Jason Kidd of the Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Nets have reached an agreement naming the All-NBA First Team member the EA SPORTS(TM) spokesman for NBA LIVE 2003. Kidd will appear on behalf of EA SPORTS NBA Live 2003 at community events and other EA SPORTS functions, as well as help with game design. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Considered by many to be the best point guard in the NBA, Kidd is coming off another stellar season leading the Nets to their first NBA Finals in his first season with the team. During the regular season Kidd led the Nets to a 52-30 record, the best in the Eastern Conference and a 26-game turnaround from 2000-2001 when the Nets finished 26-56.

Kidd's regular season stats were also impressive. The 29-year-old playmaker ranked 2nd in the league in assists (9.9 apg), 3rd in steals (2.13 spg), and tallied a league best eight triple-doubles. Kidd also led the Nets in those categories, and ranked 2nd on the team in rebounds (7.3 rpg) and 3rd in scoring (14.7 ppg). During the NBA Eastern Conference Finals series Kidd averaged a triple-double, making him only the third player ever to accomplish this feat.

"I am very excited about working with EA SPORTS on NBA LIVE 2003," said Kidd. "It's an honor to be on the cover of a game with so much history. I look forward to getting together with the developers this summer and adding my thoughts to help make NBA LIVE 2003 the best basketball video game around."

Kidd's image will appear on all NBA LIVE 2003 packaging and merchandising and he will lend his basketball knowledge to the game developers, for the ultimate in game realism and authenticity.

NBA LIVE 2003 will be released this fall for the Nintendo GameCube(TM), PC-CD, the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the PlayStation(R) console and Xbox(TM).