# I thought I had it wrong about Kidd.



## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

Well, I never really like Kidd 'cause I thought he is very cocky and I don't even know if he likes Nash or not since both of them are very very good point guards. I just read this article and really enjoy it:

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Kidd a Nash fan and vice versa 
Saturday, November 26, 2005
BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO
Star-Ledger Staff 
PHOENIX -- They have much in common now, not the least of which is a purity of purpose and the leadership of wounded teams trying to keep their head above .500 waters. 

But Jason Kidd and Steve Nash also share a mutual admiration, effusive in its intensity, even though once upon a time they were competing for the same job. Now they compete only for the distinction of being the best at their position, though Kidd makes it pretty clear who deserves that endorsement. 

"Steve is my pick. Steve is right there. Steve is the best. He's the MVP," Kidd said yesterday, as he and the Nets prepared for last night's encounter with Nash and the Suns. "It's great to see somebody that I've played against and also had some battles in working out (with) back in the Bay Area, now to see him at the highest point of his game. It's great." 



This isn't the first time Kidd has said that, and his ego isn't so large that he assumed he would have a monopoly on the best-point-guard status until the last ding-dong of eternity. 

Kidd, after all, is as devoted a fan as he is a player, and his eyes don't lie: Even at 31, Nash is the best in the open court, the best pick-and-roll player, probably the best passer off the dribble, and maybe even the best midrange shooter. 

Nash, however, would just as soon rank them as 1 and 1-A. 

"I think he is crazy to call me the best point guard," said Nash, who still leads the league at 11.3 assists per game despite the absence of Amare Stoudemire. "I think Jason has built a legacy for himself; he'll be a Hall of Famer. It means a lot to me, but at the same time he is the best point guard." 

And to think, they were once on the same team for 18 months. 

Just five months after the Suns drafted Nash, Kidd arrived in Phoenix on Dec. 26, 1996, but he fractured his collarbone in his very first game and had to sit out seven weeks. At that time, his rookie understudy was playing 10 minutes per game behind Kevin Johnson, who was having his last truly great season. But when Kidd returned, it instantly became his team, as he led the Suns to a 23-9 finish, which turned Nash into a spectator for the rest of the year. 

"What I really enjoyed about him when I was here, there were three point guards -- KJ, myself and him -- and he never complained," Kidd recalled. "If he was going to play 10 minutes, if he was going to play small ball, if he was going to play 35 minutes, he just always enjoyed playing. And he played hard." 

In his second season (1997-98), Nash showed some improvement and played 22 minutes per game, and he even started nine games alongside Kidd, with KJ limited by the injuries that would eventually end his superb career in its prime. 

"I learned a lot from Jason," Nash said of those days. "We were close friends and teammates for a year and a half. We have a lot of great memories and we had a lot of fun. I miss those days. I have watched him be the best point guard in the game for a long time." 

But recognizing that Kidd could be an All-Star for the next 10 years, Nash asked for a trade after his second season, and that didn't work out very well initially: His first two seasons in Dallas were marked by injury and slow progress. But Don Nelson convinced him to shoot more, the floor opened up for him, and that endangered species known as the pure point guard was given another member. 

In just one year, Nash went from 8.6 points and 4.9 assists per game (1999-00) to 15.6 and 7.3 (2000-01). An All-Star -- and, eventually, the 2004-05 MVP -- was born. 

Throughout that long journey -- one marked by improvement every year Nash has been in the league -- Kidd claims he saw it coming. 

"I've gone against him since Santa Clara-Cal," he said of their college days. "He loves the game. He's very unselfish. He's all about team. 

"It's all paid off for him, becoming MVP of the league. It was well-deserved. I don't know how much I taught him. He always knew how to play. It was just a matter of time."


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## The Matrix Effect (Nov 11, 2005)

Nice to see Kidd giving Nash props. I never had a problem with Kidd when he was here (except for hitting his wife) I said that if Kidd stayed here he would have went down as the best PG in Suns history, I felt that highly about him. Nash is my boy though, he is here now and if he has 4-5 more years similar to last year, he could get his number retired in our ring of honor and be the best PG ever in Suns history and quite possibly have a few rings to boot.


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## Seuss (Aug 19, 2005)

I never saw Kidd as a cocky guy. 

I'm glad they both give respect to each other. 

Its cool how Kidd has been the best pg for awhile. And now hes, in a way, handing off to Nash.


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## jibikao (Nov 14, 2004)

Now Nash needs a championship to add on top of his MVP status! If he gets a Ring, he should be locked for Hall of Fame. 

Darn it, Amare!!!! Get well soon!


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## tempe85 (Jan 7, 2005)

I think there's a good chance Nash will go down as the best Suns PG in history... either him or Kevin Johnson. Kidd was great while he was here but I think both Nash and Johnson had bigger impacts.


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## The Matrix Effect (Nov 11, 2005)

tempe85 said:


> I think there's a good chance Nash will go down as the best Suns PG in history... either him or Kevin Johnson. Kidd was great while he was here but I think both Nash and Johnson had bigger impacts.


Well I thought Kidd COULD have been in that status, but obviously he can't be that now. But I like I said I like Nash ALOT.


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## AUNDRE (Jul 11, 2005)

I could see Steve Nash winning the MVP this year too... especially when he gets Amare back... hes really been holding the teams weight in Stoudemires absense....


still like J Kidd more..... but or course its probably just cause im a Nets fan :biggrin:


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## Sedd (Sep 1, 2003)

Only way Nash could ever pass KJ is winning a title. With that said Nash is like my version of Tom Brady, no matter what that's my dude. Him and Kidd have mad respect for one another. He learned a lot from Jason from the times here in Phoenix.


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## The Matrix Effect (Nov 11, 2005)

Sedd said:


> Only way Nash could ever pass KJ is winning a title. With that said Nash is like my version of Tom Brady, no matter what that's my dude. Him and Kidd have mad respect for one another. He learned a lot from Jason from the times here in Phoenix.


KJ never got a ring here...Even if Nash doen't get a ring here, he has an MVP trophy at home that KJ doesn't. Thats the ONLY way?


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## Sedd (Sep 1, 2003)

You have to understand KJ was the franchise here before Barkley came and many people here still love him. He started in Clevland, but he was basically a career Sun cause he retired here and that isn't comon for this franchise. I think if the question came about it would be hard to compare the two. About the MVP true enough, but understand KJ played and played well against the legends Stockton, Magic and a young Tim Hardaway often. In those years if you weren't Bird, Isiah, Jordan or Magic forget about a MVP.


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