It was New Jersey's chance to grab the international spotlight these past 12 days because the U.S. Olympic team included three players on the Nets.

Although Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson each contributed to Team USA's successful bid to lock up an invite to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, it's fair to say the Jersey boys didn't exactly steal the show.

Kidd, as always, made some nice passes but for the most part was outshone by backup point guard Mike Bibby. Martin will be most remembered for flexing his muscles: How do you say "goon" in Spanish? And Jefferson? His accuracy problems from last year's NBA Finals carried over into international play. Heading into last night's gold medal game, he was shooting a team-low 35 percent while playing mostly in garbage time.

Sheer numbers alone might have dictated that the Nets warrant a lot of attention. The Sonics, who were represented by Ray Allen and rookie Nick Collison, are the only other NBA team to have more than one representative on the squad. The reason the Nets contingent is so large is that Martin agreed at the last moment to replace Karl Malone, after Malone's mother died suddenly during training camp. Jefferson was added to the team mostly because of his potential.

Of all the quiet performances, Kidd's has been the most surprising. The best player on a Nets team that has been to the NBA Finals two years in a row, Kidd was averaging an unremarkable 3.2 points, 4.9 assists and 23.4 minutes heading into last night's game.