At their best, who was better? - Jason Kidd, Gary Payton or Steve Nash?

[Shade8780]

Who do you think was better at their peak/prime?

[BuGzBuNNy]

Nash

[hateraid]

Not your fault but I'm not liking where this thread is going to go...
I hate to criticize Nash, and I love Nash followers and how they support and can justify his career accomplishments, I would take Kidd.
I love Kidd's approach to being a PG and his court vision and creativity I would say is the greatest (and I'm on the Magic is GOAT bandwagon)

Having said that Nash would be a better fit on alot of teams due to his shooting range

Half court Nash > Kidd
Fullcourt Kidd > Nash

Overall they are give in take in all areas, but Kidd gets a huge edge in defense

EDIT: Just saw Payton. I'd still take Kidd

Adding Payton was a good call, otherwise this may end up being a Nash bashing thread

[3peated]

all ringless until past their prime, so....equals, am i right?

[Kblaze8855]

All playing at the peak of their ability in head to head matchups I suspect GP would appear to have the best game. Payton couldnt lock up Nash totally but he could prevent some of those casual strolls into the lane he got a lot in Phoenix and Kidd isnt scoring on PAyton in the halfcourt at all.

At Nashs best he still cant guard Gary. He can guard Kidd to an extent unless he takes him into the post but he didnt do that as often as he could.

Head to head matchups Payton would appear to have the edge on a stat sheet I suspect. Doesnt mean hes the best of the 3. That depends on what else you have to work with.

But Payton at the top of his game vs either of them at theirs...GP is gonna have like 26/8/6 and hold Kidd to 4-16 shooting and 9-10 assists on the break and Nash might hang around 16-20 points with more work to get them than hed want....or 12 points and 15-16 assists.

Given equal teams I think GPs would likely win...

But I cant count Nash out. Nash on his 05 playoffs level is at least in contention to outplay any point ever...on a single night. Magic...Oscar...whoever.

One night only....Nash in the form he showed vs the Mavs...hes gonna hold his own.

[Xiao Yao You]

Glove

[chocolatethunder]

It's a difficult question because they were all so different in their games. Nash when he wanted/needed to be was the best scorer and him and Kidd are about even in passing (both being better than Payton). However, Nash is by far the worst defender and Kidd is by far the worst scorer. Payton is the most well rounded and although Kidd was a great defender he's not on Payton's level. I would say Payton at his best is the best of the group. I would also say tho, if it was a big playoff game with a lot on the line, I wouldn't count out Nash to step up and score a ton and dish out a bunch of assists. The stuff he was doing in Phoenix when Amare was out was pretty insane. Also, I don't want it to seem like somehow I dislike Kidd, that's not the case at all.

[kshutts1]

Others have alluded to this point, but it really depends on what you want from your PG.

If the PG is the star of the team, then I want GP first, then Nash.
If the PG is a secondary player, I want Nash then Kidd (love Nash's shooting).

[zoom17]

Payton

[Killbot]

Gary Payton.

Best all around game + Trash talker to get in the heads of players + most physical

[SamuraiSWISH]

GP and Kidd dominated in an era where no touch rules didn't exist. Nash's reputation was significantly boosted with D'Antoni's style of play, and the rule changes after 2004. That's not saying Nash isn't a great PG, but it needs to be kept in mind. Also, Kidd and GP are in another stratosphere defensively, Stockton and Chris Paul as well.

Paul
GP
Stockton
Kidd
Nash

[LAClipsFan33]

GP...no question

[Eric Cartman]

GP and Kidd dominated in an era where no touch rules didn't exist. Nash's reputation was significantly boosted with D'Antoni's style of play, and the rule changes after 2004. That's not saying Nash isn't a great PG, but it needs to be kept in mind. Also, Kidd and GP are in another stratosphere defensively, Stockton and Chris Paul as well.

Paul
GP
Stockton
Kidd
Nash

Nash offensively is the best out of those 5, tho.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Nash offensively is the best out of those 5, tho.

No he isn't. Paul is the best. Paul's a better scorer, equal distributor, and much better defender. Nash is the best shooter of the bunch, that doesn't make him the best offensively. The gap between all these players, particularly Nash is strictly defense related.

[Myth]

Payton > Kidd > Nash