Better Passer Between: Jason Kidd, Larry Bird or Lebron James

[mdonnelly1989]

At the peak of their prime.

Take a combination of...

Passing Touch
Zip
English
Giving the ball to players favorite spots.

[God Squad]

Kidd.

[Triple M]

Kidd
BIRD
JAMES

[tsherkin]

Is this supposed to factor in ball-handling and athleticism and broader playmaking, or only technical passing proficiency?

[SonicMcMahon]

At the peak of their prime.

Take a combination of...

Passing Touch
Zip
English
Giving the ball to players favorite spots.

I think you should add vision and creativity to your list of passing qualities.

I think in these areas Kidd and Bird have Lebron beat. (That's not to say Lebron isn't very high-level as well though)

[Roger Murdock]

Its easier to pass when you are a major threat to score. LeBron and Bird are fantastic passers but being scoring threats creates a LOT of easy looks.

Kidd was a decent scorer but far from a great one and he wasnt given nearly the same amount of defensive attention. He had harder passing lanes etc.

To me Kidd > LeBron > Bird

[Duke4life831]

Id take Kidd without much hesitation here. And this isnt to poo poo Bird or LeBron, just speaks more to the level of passer Kidd was.

[nikster]

Its easier to pass when you are a major threat to score. LeBron and Bird are fantastic passers but being scoring threats creates a LOT of easy looks.

Kidd was a decent scorer but far from a great one and he wasnt given nearly the same amount of defensive attention. He had harder passing lanes etc.

To me Kidd > LeBron > Bird

Yeah the scoring is such a major factor it can be hard to separate passing outcomes created from passing "skill" vs the gravity they draw as a scorer.

I agree with Kidd first. Lebron and Bird are different kinds of passers but they're close enough I have a hard time separating them

[cam24thomas]

LeBron is the only boring passer in that poll. Too passive and simple, maybe because his hands are too small, or maybe its mental.
The 3 most entertaining passers ever:
1. Larry Bird
2. Magic Johnson
3. Michael Jordan
Kidd is entertaining enough, but not on that level.

[Tomtolbert]

It's always hard to figure out what we are judging with these type of questions. If a player has certain advantages when it comes to height, athleticism, scoring ability, ball handling/attacking the rim, etc, he can be a more effective passer. But if we attempt to normalize those factors and asses pure passing ability, it's a different discussion.

[MavsDirk41]

Kidd. He wasnt the greatest facilitator ever/or most entertaining passer, but he was pretty freaking great.

[FrobeBryant]

Lebrons a great passer but I wouldn't put him with the best passers of all time. Not a knock on him though. His uniqueness is having his vision and passing ability for a guy his size and build.

[Bad-Thoma]

I'd take Bird, he was ridiculous. That's not taking anything away from Kidd or Lebron (with Kidd finishing soundly ahead of Lebron), but Bird had a level of creativity they just couldn't reach.

Watch on YouTube

[Matt15]

1.Kidd
2.Bird
3.James

[GreatWhiteStiff]

I'd take Bird, he was ridiculous. That's not taking anything away from Kidd or Lebron (with Kidd finishing soundly ahead of Lebron), but Bird had a level of creativity they just couldn't reach.

Watch on YouTube

I love that you can hear him call out DJ 4 seconds before the pass comes down the court. 30 seconds in. Bird was on some different level, you can see that exemplified with the creative passing.

[Slim Charlez]

Kidd
Bird
Lebron