We have 3 major candidates.
Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Cp3
Early 2000s. 2002-2003. Kidd was able to lead his team to back to back finals appearance. (Only losing to Shaq/Kobe Lakers and Big 3 Spurs respectively)
Everyone thought Kidd would be inarguably the best PG of the decade.
However, in Mid 2000s. 2005-2006. Nash was traded from Mavs to Suns. And his partnership with coach Dantoni worked wonders. Unlike Kidd. Nash never was able to lead his suns team to a finals appearance. Usually losing to Spurs or Lakers before reaching the big stage. Still Nash won back to back MVPs in that stretch
Then Cp3 came to the party as a late game. 2006, he won Roy. 2007, he was not even an all star. But in 2008, he had a skyrocket leap. Not only he made all star. He became an MVP candidate!!!. And even placed second place behind Kobe Bryant (one of Top 10-12 all time players)
My Verdict
Cp3 kinda came late. And a good amount of his prime years will be in 2010s instead.
So, it is Nash VS Kidd.
Kidd back to back finals appearance was amazing.
But I will give the edge to Nash. Just because on how deep the wild west in his time.
So, I have (for 2000s)
1.Nash
2.Kidd
3.Cp3
Honorable Mention: Deron Williams
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Nash would eat the modern NBA alive.
Derek Fisher has 5 rings. 5.
Nash is a good choice, he has the personal accolades and was the on-court engine behind a revolutionary and influential offense.
Nash is the only answer
His teams led the league in offensive ratings in like 7 straight seasons. He got guys like Quentin Richardson monumentally paid. He had Tim Thomas playing like he cared about basketball.
Getting to watch his prime was a gift. There was no one like him on the court.
I say this in every Nash-related discussion. He was a player you had to watch with your own eyes to understand his greatness. His control of the offense was pure mastery and his passing was INSANE. If advanced stats were more prominent during his time, he’d be remembered more fondly than he is. You can’t understand his full impact by looking at your run of the mill box score.
I agree. Someone on nbadiscussion left him off a list of most impactful seasons with a new team ever because of his low advanced stats. Fuck that. He was a 2X MVP, one of the greatest passers and assist men ever, and revolutionized offense and basketball, and led some GOAT offenses.
I’m a fan of analytics and advanced stats, but sometimes people go too big brain lol.
All anyone needs to know about Nash’s impact is that the Suns went from 29 wins pre-Nash to 62 wins with him. And he actually missed 7 games that year and the Suns went 2-5 without him.
And in the following season, one which Amar’e pretty much missed all of, the Suns still finished with 54 wins. Nash was the engine.
also if he took more 3s
Nash could’ve averaged 25 and 15 in this current era of the NBA.
I mean, I appreciate OP’s analysis but the best point guard is the guy with 2 MVPs that spearheaded a team that transformed basketball
Maybe if Kidd had won a ring or 2 this would be a longer discussion.
Kidd won one with a ring with the mavs.
Thank you!
I’m biased but Nash was phenomenal. His offences were absurd relative to his era, and bad luck was often the determining factor in their failure to make the finals in a tough west. Amare’s injuries, the Horry incident, hell Joe Johnson being more concerned with getting payed than playing a Klay-esque role on a super team, motherfucking Tim Duncan three pointers… it goes on.
Kidds Nets made the finals but the east was a joke, and then his role in Dallas later was important but he was no longer the driving force of the team.
Agree or not, Nash won two MVPs even though he averaged 15.5ppg and 18.8ppg. He simply made the entire team better.
Nash deserved both MVPs.
And wasn’t basketball his backup sport?
the reason ppl say he doesnt is because no one thought he could win in the playoffs and his stats were inflated. im not saying thats fair to say but thats what ppl thought and felt a way about his win
Wasn’t a top 5 player at the time though.
Here you go. https://youtu.be/trdsKp94Io0?si=ctjONd0sfGtmhd0V
Although Kidd wasn’t MVP level in Dallas he was a major key factor in that championship he was far from an old ring chaser like Gary Payton on the Miami Heat.
very far. its just that team was so stacked. elite role players everywhere.
what horny incident
Nash in the 2020s would be absolutely lethal
He’s talked openly about how Steph made him realize the value of being aggressive as a distance shooter, and that he basically wished he would have played more like Steph to open things up for his guys.
Granted, Amare dictated a different approach with lots of elbow pick and roll, but they could have dragged those screens out higher. Hell, the year with Diaw in Amare’s place could probably have looked similar to the Curry Draymond dynamic.
Nash and Kidd are closer than you think. While Nash is obviously the better shooter, Kidd is an All-NBA defender while Nash is an absolute cone. So it makes up for it.
However, because Nash gets 2 MVPs, he pits it slightly.
You’re not wrong, when talking about the greats you’re forced to nitpick tho… it’s the only way!
With that being said, and this is when the pitchforks usually come out, Steve Nash doesn’t deserve to be in the convo …
My reasons:
- That entire Phoenix run was nothing but superteams (especially by todays definition) that couldn’t get passed Kobe w/o even another max player on his squad …
Steph recruited once and been called “a superteam” and “unfair” and “KD a snake for going there” … also, Steph was a drafted team in 2016 vs Lebron, no salary cap, and 3 max players… still clowned for losing 7 GAMES LATER! Steve Nash’s run was unacceptable…
- His place in the convo comes directly from the media… I’ll never give media that power! They have to power to hand out MVPs then simply place you in the convo … no thanks! 👎
Gotta win some titles with all Nash had in his prime… 🤷♂️
Yawn such a tired conversation.
Kidd only won when he was old and washed scoring 8ppg, so it’s not like him or CP3 meaningfully won more than Nash.
But not having a ring doesn’t disqualify you from greatness.
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Harden is one of the best offensive players ever, top 3 in MVP voting like 7 different times, no ring.
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CP3 is the one of the best PGs ever, top 3 player in the world during his prime, no ring.
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Barkley won an MVP over prime MJ and prime Hakeem, no ring.
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Russ had a historic MVP year when he won, no ring.
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AI was an MVP and 4x scoring champ, no ring.
Winning an NBA championship takes a lot of luck in certain senses. Just cuz some guys didn’t ever get there doesn’t mean they aren’t great. Harden was only stopped by what many consider the best team ever in the KD Warriors. Nash had one of the most stacked conferences ever fighting with the Lakers, Mavs, and Spurs. They almost definitely win rings in other years, like I’d take the Nash Suns or Harden Rockets over any champ in the ‘20s personally, but their comp was just much harder. It doesn’t mean those guys weren’t rightfully MVPs.
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joe johnson was not a superstar on the sun lol. he didnt become joe johnson til atl. and if your one of the guys that say “cant win in playoffs” to dismiss players then steve nash suns were the poster children of this. always blow teams out in reg season to lose to lesser talented lower seeded teams. and no one ever picked suns to win either. also after the super lakers league was pretty weak imo.
Suns probably win in 07 if the suspensions don’t happen tbh
The 07 Suns were 16th in defensive rating at a time when mediocre defensive teams simply didnt win rings. Hell, they still don’t, but especially not in 07
Statmuse has them at 13th with a 106.4. The heat were at 8th with a 105.3. The statistical significance of that gap is probably not very strong, and we don’t need to pretend that a 61 win team was not capable of winning a chip.
nash is the best offensive player of all time
I put none of the blame on Joe Johnson, and all on the owner at the time Sarver. It was a total of $5 million that prevented Johnson from re-signing with the suns. Not $5 per year. But $5M over 5 years. It’s a joke and Sarver is absolute garbage and cost the suns at least 1 title in that stretch.
Very fair, I forgot about what a toothpick to the urethra Sarver was.
This. A core of Nash, Amare, Marion and Johnson. That’s it. Add free agent ‘X’. Johnson lets Nash play off-ball more. Deadly.
Sarver/Colangelo Jr also sold the Luol Deng and Rondo picks. Just terrible asset management.
When other Pistons fans say how much our billionaire owner sucks and how’s he’s the worst and as a super fan of the NBA, I always think, you’re complaining about our owner, who is willing to drop money if ever needed, when Sarver nickeled and dimed his teams and is arguably the biggest reason why Suns don’t have a ring to show for some REALLY good teams.
Im so happy for Suns fans that he is gone because no fans of a professional sports team deserve a POS owner like Robert Sarver
I hate Sarver more than Robert Horry.
Fuck sarver
Literally night and day with Ishbia now
Obligatory fuck Robert Sarver. Garbage human being and team owner
Preach Brother!
What are your thoughts about Leandro Barbosa taking over Joe Johnson’s role? Dude was a highly effective sixth man.
The gap defensively between Kidd and Nash is just too large.
Kidd made it out of the East which was weaker but it’s not like he had any sort of stacked roster around him. Richard Jefferson, Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles were all solid but he never had nearly the offensive talent around him that Nash did.
To me a comparison is Harden and Durant. Harden is a better offensive engine and more impactful offensive player but the gap defensively is too big.
Nash to me too. Consistent and great through my whole time watching.
Nash and cp3 are in a totally different league than Kidd
Wym?
Steve Nash and Chris Paul were both far better than Kidd, by quite a bit. Grew up watching Kidd because he was a fun player to watch but I can admit he wasn’t a serious contender for best in the league, it’s like calling Trae on the same level as Luka. Not that he’s bad but he’s not that
CP3 was never in contention for best player in the league and Kidd is 10 times the winner Chris Paul ever was.
I can’t say who the best PG between Nash and Kidd but I clearly remember when Kidd got traded to the Nets they went from a 26-56 record to 52-30 and went to the finals back to back.
And the MVP voting was very close.Not to mention the number of triple double he put in an era when it wasn’t that easy.
So definitely you can’t say Nash and Paul are far better than Kidd. But hey after all it’s your opinion man.
I mean Chris Paul basically made the Clippers relevant. They also went from a 29 win team to a 57 win team. Again, this is coming from a Kidd fan. He just isn’t the player Paul or Nash were. Nash actually won MVP twice, and CP3 was seen as the best PG in the game for over half a decade
Kidd was 2nd for MVP in 2002.
Nasty Nash for me
Chris Paul has the best numbers, is the most consistent, highest peak, longest peak, best defensively and has most accolades. He did all of this with the worst cast of teammates and worst coach.
It’s CP3 by a country mile lmao. He has the same amount of All NBAs as Nash/Kidd combined and the same amount of all defensive selections as Nash and Kidd combined.
They were all great, but Jason Kidd is the best pg of the era. Kidd performed at an elite level at every facet of the game, and I think would have been a team elevator on every team in the league. Nash was great in Dallas and amazing in Phoenix, but I just don’t think he would have been quite as impactful in many other places and without MDA (still a great pg but not an MVP). Kidd was so good at everything and so capable of playing however he needed to; I think he would have raised the ceiling of pretty much any team in the league. Both were awesome. CP was great, but didn’t win enough to be in the conversation imo. Kidd>Nash>Paul
The discussion should be simply between Nash and Parker. And the correct answer is Nash.
Chauncey!
TJ Ford was going to be
Anyone who doesn’t say Kidd is mad sus son!!!
No mention of Steve Francis!
I love Nash, one of my favorites ever but I would put Kidd above him and CP3 last of those you mentioned.