Jason Kidd entered the NBA in 1994, playing 19 seasons in the NBA, averaging 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.3 blocks, shooting 40% from the field and 34.9% from three-point range, and he delivered 12,091 assists, ranking second in NBA history.
Selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 15th round of the 1996 NBA Draft, Steve Nash played 18 seasons in the NBA, averaging 14.3 points, 3 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.1 blocks, shooting 49 percent from the field and 42.8 percent from three-point range, and he delivered a total of 1,033 assists, previously third in NBA history, surpassed by Chris Paul this season and currently ranked fourth in NBA history.
Nash had a mediocre first two seasons of his career, when he was a backup point guard for the Suns, who was Kidd at the time of the Suns' starting point guard. Two years later Nash was traded to the Lone Ranger and Nowitzki, Nash's passing talent gradually revealed, and then he became the Lone Ranger's starting point guard, assisting more and more every year, scoring very efficiently, but he and Nowitzki did not lead the Lone Ranger to a breakthrough for many years, and then Nash returned to the Suns.
Nash was 30 years old when he returned to the Suns, but his peak was just beginning, he led the Suns to become a Western Conference team with efficient offense and mysterious passing, and he won the regular season MVP twice, becoming one of the best point guards in the league and qualifying to be on a par with Kidd. So which of these two great point guards is stronger? Comparing the data of 34 encounters, can we get the answer?
Nash and Kidd were teammates when they were suns, and after Nash was traded to the Lone Ranger in 1998, the two of them had a chance to play each other. In 2013, Kidd announced his retirement, and Nash played another season after Kidd announced his retirement, but he had no chance to play Kidd. Between 1998 and 2013, they played each other 34 times, all in the regular season, and it was a shame not to meet in the playoffs.
In these 34 games, Kidd averaged 36.8 minutes per game, averaged 13.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 2 steals, 0.2 blocks, 2.8 turnovers, averaged 4.8 of 11.3 shots per game, shot 42.1%, shot 1.7 of 4.7 three-pointers, shot 36.9% of three-pointers, and shot 83.5% of 1.9 of 2.3 free throws, helping his team achieve a record of 19 wins and 15 losses.
Nash averaged 33.8 minutes per game, averaged 16 points, 2.9 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.1 blocks, 2.7 turnovers, averaged 5.9 of 11.8 shots per game, shot 50% from the field, shot 1.4 of 3.5 from three-point range, shot 41.5% from three-point range, shot 2.9 from the free throws, 2.7 from the free throws, and shot 93% from the free throw line, helping his team achieve a record of 15 wins and 19 losses.
Kidd is better at the record, but he only won 4 more games, and the advantage is not obvious. Kidd also has some advantages in terms of statistics, he averages more assists per game than Nash, averages rebounds and steals per game are several times that of Nash, Kidd's athleticism and physical fitness are far better than Nash, which allows him to grab more rebounds and makes him a very good defensive point guard.
Kidd has been selected to the best defensive team 4 times, the best defensive team 5 times, few point guards have achieved this achievement on the defensive end, most of the point guards are not as good as him, not to mention Nash with average physical fitness, Nash lacks confrontation on the defensive end, even if the footsteps can keep up, he will be knocked away by the opponent with his body, and his defense is far inferior to Kidd.
However, Nash's offense is far better than Kidd, in 34 meetings, Nash's average score per game is much higher than Kidd, his mid-range shooting, three-point shooting are extremely threatening, he is not a player who often cuts high scores, but a very efficient point guard, with Kidd when he shoots 50%, three-point shooting rate reaches 41.5%, in front of Kidd's top defender, Nash can also play such an efficient offensive performance, enough to reflect how good he is on the offensive end.
On the whole, Kidd and Nash's passing level is similar, Kidd has poor shooting stability, does not like offense, once had the nickname of "Key does not attack", he practiced shooting hard late in his career, but there was no season when the shooting rate exceeded 43%, and he belonged to the point guard who was weak in defense. Nash is a player with strong attack and weak defense, poor physical fitness and athleticism generally make Nash's defense useless, Nash has won the nickname of "Na No Defense", and the advantages and disadvantages are also obvious.
They are all masters of passing, but in addition to passing, they are players with completely different styles, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, even if they compare the data of 34 encounters, it is difficult to distinguish between winning and losing. Who do you think is stronger? If you choose one of the point guards on a championship-winning team, would you choose Kidd or Nash? When you make your choice, the question of which of the two of them is stronger may have an answer.