WEST LAFAYETTE ― Dru Anthrop said coaching in the NBA is as much about relationships as it is about X’s and O’s.
One of those relationships the former Purdue basketball player developed during his coaching career was with Jason Kidd.
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Now, Anthrop will reunite with the hall of fame point guard as a member of his coaching staff with the Dallas Mavericks.
Anthrop said after Saturday’s Purdue basketball alumni game he’d recently signed with the Mavericks and is eager to work under Kidd’s tutelage.
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“He’s a basketball savant,” said Anthrop of Kidd. “When you are around people like that, you can just absorb everything they’ve got; all the knowledge about the game, the ins and outs of personalities of locker rooms.”
Anthrop previously worked alongside Kidd for two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before Kidd departed for Dallas. As member’s of Frank Vogel’s coaching staff, they won the 2020 NBA Finals.
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Anthrop graduated from Lafayette Central Catholic in 2009, having scored 1,298 career points and stayed in his hometown, joining Purdue as a walk-on. Anthrop was a three-time academic All-Big Ten honoree and a member of the 2010 Big Ten championship team.
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After an internship with the Indiana Pacers, Anthrop joined former St. John’s coach Chris Mullin’s staff as a graduate assistant in 2015 before finding his way back into the NBA.
Dru Anthrop of the Gold team brings the ball up court in the Purdue men’s alumni basketball game Saturday, August 6, 2016, at Lafayette Jeff’s Crawley Center. The Gold team defeated the Black 86-84.
Anthrop worked with the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies before joining the Lakers as a video coordinator and player development coach. Anthrop left Los Angeles to join the Phoenix Suns‘ coaching staff in 2023. He spent last season coaching with the NBA G League’s Stockton Kings, who won the NBA G League Finals.
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“When you get to work with good people and you have some success, like last year in the G League I got to work with a great head coach in Quinton Crawford and an awesome staff all the way down, and you win a championship with them, it always helps build the resume,” Anthrop said.
In Dallas, Anthrop will reunite with Vogel, who he’s been tied to throughout his NBA coaching career. Vogel reportedly will be Kidd’s lead assistant this season. Anthrop also gets to work with players Max Christie, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell, all whom he coached with the Lakers. Dallas roster also includes Kyrie Irving and 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking. Get IndyStar’s Purdue coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Boiler Update newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Dru Anthrop joining Jason Kidd’s coaching staff with Dallas Mavericks