Nets to retire Jason Kidd's jersey in October

The Nets have wasted no time honoring Jason Kidd, even before he coaches his first regular season game. The team will retire its former star’s No. 5 jersey when it hosts the Heat for a preseason game at Barclays Center on Oct. 17.

“This is a very humbling honor and one that I will always cherish,” said Kidd in a statement released by the team yesterday. “There can be no greater recognition of an athlete’s time with any team than to have his number retired, and this gesture by the Nets organization validates a very significant portion of my career that was spent as a player with this franchise.”

Kidd, who retired from the Knicks after 19 seasons in the NBA and was named the Nets’ new coach shortly thereafter, led the then-New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. He will become the sixth player to have his number retired by the franchise, which moved to Brooklyn before last season.

“Jason is firmly established in the Nets’ record books as the greatest player in the team’s NBA history,” said Nets general manager Billy King.

The game, which will tip off at 8 p.m., will air on YES and TNT.