Where Does Kidd Rank All-Time?
Since the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA title on Sunday quite a bit of discussion has centered on the place in history of All-Star power forward Dirk Nowitzki. The reasoning, some say, is that now with a championship to his resume Nowitzki – along with his other accolades and gaudy career statistics – should now legitimately be recognized as one of the best ever.
All of that discussion is legitimate and Nowitzki is very deserving of that consideration.
However, he wasn’t the only all-time great who put threw another gold star on his career with Sunday’s win…how easily we forget point guard Jason Kidd.
“He is one of the all-time greats,” said Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle. “There is absolutely no question about it. For Jason Kidd, this moment completely validates his career as being one of those super-super-super-superstars.”
Without a doubt Kidd is one of the greatest point guards to step on a NBA floor. But career validation? He probably didn’t need a ring for that, though it doesn’t hurt.
Which leads to this question: Is Jason Kidd now, with a ring, the best point guard in NBA history?
Maybe. He has some serious competitors, but first let’s state his case.
In 17 seasons Kidd has posted career averages of 13.2 points, 9.1 assists, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals a game. For his career he has shot just 40.1% from the field, including 34.8% from three-point range. He led the league in assists per game five times, total assists three times, and total steals once.
With regards to career numbers, Kidd is third all-time in triple-doubles with 107, trailing only Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. In fact, Kidd is such a good rebounder from the point guard position he ranks 55th among ALL players in league history on the total rebound list. He is second all-time in career assists with 11,578, trailing only Utah Jazz legend John Stockton, and is third all-time in career steals with 2,477 – only 37 behind the great Michael Jordan for second (Kidd is far, far behind Stockton in both categories and it’s very, very unlikely he plays long enough to catch him).
Kidd was named co-Rookie of the Year in 1995 with Grant Hill and named to 10 All-Star Games, as well as being named a McDonald’s All-American and an AP All-American while at California. Five times Kidd was named to the First Team All-NBA (and one second team) and four times First Team All-Defensive (as well as five second teams).
In 142 career playoff games Kidd posted numbers similar to his regular season stats: 14.0 points, 8.6 assists, 7.0 rebounds, 40% shooting from the field, and 33% from three-point range. He played in the NBA Finals three times, twice with the New Jersey Nets before finally winning with Dallas.
{AUTHOR_BOX}That’s quite the impressive resume, is it not? But then, the point here is not to ask whether or not Kidd is a good player, or whether or not he should be a Hall of Famer; the answer to any of those types of questions is a resounding yes. Instead, the question is whether or not Kidd is the best ever.
Let’s take a look at the other top point guards and their numbers and accolades. (Because of small sample sizes, current top point guards like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, and Rajon Rondo will not be compared against here. Only one contemporary has enough of a history to warrant inclusion: Steve Nash.)
Steve Nash
Career Averages: 14.6 points, 8.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 48.9 FG%, 42.9 3FG%
Playoff Averages: 17.3 points, 8.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 0.6 steals, 47.3 FG%, 40.9 3FG%
Career Assist Rank: 6
Career Steals Rank: 220
All-Star Games: 7
All-NBA First Teams: 3
All-Defensive First Teams: 0
NBA Titles: 0
Other Awards: MVP (2005, 2006)
Magic Johnson
Career Averages: 19.5 points, 11.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 52.0 FG%, 30.3 3FG%
Playoff Averages: 19.5 points, 12.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 50.6 FG%, 24.1 3FG%
Career Assist Rank: 4
Career Steals Rank: 15
All-Star Games: 12
All-NBA First Teams: 9
All-Defensive First Teams: 0
NBA Titles: 5
Other Awards: NBA Finals MVP (1980, 1982, 1987), MVP (1987, 1989, 1990), All-Star Game MVP (1990, 1992), second all-time in triple-doubles
John Stockton
Career Averages: 13.1 points, 10.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 51.5 FG%, 38.4 3FG%
Playoff Averages: 13.4 points, 10.1 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 47.3 FG%, 32.6 3FG%
Career Assist Rank: 1
Career Steals Rank: 1
All-Star Games: 10
All-NBA First Teams: 2
All-Defensive First Teams: 0
NBA Titles: 0
Other Awards: 1993 All-Star Game MVP
Oscar Robertson
Career Averages: 25.7 points, 9.5 assists, 7.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals*, 48.5 FG%, N/A 3FG%
Playoff Averages: 22.2 points, 8.9 assists, 6.7 rebounds, 0.9 steals*, 46.0 FG%, N/A 3FG%
Career Assist Rank: 5
Career Steals Rank: N/A
All-Star Games: 12
All-NBA First Teams: 9
All-Defensive First Teams: N/A
NBA Titles: 1
Other Awards: Rookie of the Year (1961), MVP (1964), All-Star Game MVP (1961, 1964, 1969), first all-time in triple-doubles
* Steals weren’t recorded until Robertson’s final season in 1973-74
Isiah Thomas
Career Averages: 19.2 points, 9.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 45.2 FG%, 29.0 3FG%
Playoff Averages: 20.4 points, 8.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 44.1 FG%, 34.6 3FG%
Career Assist Rank: 7
Career Steals Rank: 14
All-Star Games: 12
All-NBA First Teams: 3
All-Defensive First Teams: 0
NBA Titles: 2
Other Awards: NBA Finals MVP (1990), All-Star Game MVP (1984, 1986)
Gary Payton
Career Averages: 16.3 points, 6.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 46.6 FG%, 31.7 3FG%
Playoff Averages: 14.0 points, 5.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 44.1 FG%, 31.5 3FG%
Career Assist Rank: 8
Career Steals Rank: 4
All-Star Games: 9
All-NBA First Teams: 2
All-Defensive First Teams: 9
NBA Titles: 1
Other Awards: Defensive Player of the Year (1996)
Wow – that’s some list, isn’t it? However, some delineations are pretty clear. Payton and Nash just don’t seem to be in quite the same category, though Payton may rank higher in some minds because of his outstanding defense.
What really hurts Kidd in a discussion like this is his shooting. Compared with players like Stockton, Thomas, Robertson, and Magic, his shooting percentage is downright pathetic (and it’s not that great otherwise either). Kidd also has longevity on his side over everyone but Stockton, which helps add to the career totals but doesn’t necessarily mean the player is better or worse.
“Enough,” I can hear you saying. “Get off the damn fence already.”
Okay then. I rank these point guards like this:
Magic Johnson
Oscar Robertson
Jason Kidd
John Stockton
Isiah Thomas
Gary Payton
Steve Nash
So there you go. Kidd has had an amazing career, but still not quite on the same level as Magic and the Big O.
How would you rank the all-time point guards? Should another name be on the list? Leave your thoughts in the comments below! Follow Jason Fleming on Twitter and hit up his weekly chat, Mondays at 8pm Eastern.
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