Could Nash be top 5 PG of all time when...

[YFZblu]

IMO, he's top 5. His two MVPs put him in extremely rare company.

Arguably the best shooter in the history of the NBA.

Sure, others have significantly gaudier numbers; but at the end of the day, we shouldn't be comparing players' basketball abilities side-by-side when spanning eras. Nash bloomed because someone was finally willing to allow him to dominate the ball, and because of hand check removal in 2004.

I don't typically like to partake in these types of rankings...But I'll play along. I think we all have Magic at #1. His combination of MVPs and championships isn't rivaled at the PG position. I love Stockton's game, but for my money, I'll take Isiah if we're in a playoff series.

After the first few, it gets dicey. Personally I think Jason Kidd is one of the most overrated players of the the last decade, along with Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady. I probably hold Nash in a higher regard than I should, and I'd be hard pressed to find five other point guards I'd take over a prime Steve Nash in any setting.

NOTE: DirtyDez makes a great point, and I love the picture--Payton isn't getting enough nods in this thread. That was a man.

[cmw17]

Duh. he is already top 5. Too many reason's to list why but he may be the best shooter and passer in the history of the game. That's enough on it's own.

He's not a better passer than Magic/Stockton. Both those guys have absurd assist averages. Magic has a career average of 11+ and Stockton has the most assists in NBA history so i'm not buying that. But, he is a better shooter than both.

If someone has a higher assist average, it does not automatically mean he is a better passer. In my opinion, Magic and Nash are the best passers in the hisory of the game. Just cause Stockton's avg is higher doesn't mean he's a better passer. But he is definitely up there as well.

[lilfishi22]

Payton isn't getting enough nods in this thread. That was a man.

GP's defense makes people forget that he was a great PG too. People nowadays just remember him as a great defensive stopper.

[YFZblu]

Payton isn't getting enough nods in this thread. That was a man.

GP's defense makes people forget that he was a great PG too. People nowadays just remember him as a great defensive stopper.

Gary Payton on his toughest defensive assignment ever:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-cG7uUBYxo&feature=related[/youtube]

[Sun Scorched]

Great write-up of Captain Canada from ShamSports. Resonates what TXSun and I were saying.

It may seem like a strange thing to say about one of the game's all time assists leaders, about a pass first point guard who won multiple MVP awards based on his pass-first nature and a multi-time winner of the seasonal assist title. But passing does not rank amongst Steve Nash's two strongest strengths as a basketball player.

That's not to say that he's not good at it, because he obviously is. He's totally badass at it. He's as good as passing I am with avoiding double negatives; hitting cutters from all angles, thriving in transition, making both simple and complex passes with consummate ease. He finds players who didn't even know they were open, and is unrivalled in his ability to do so. Yet it's still not one of the two things he's best at.

Instead, the two things he's best at are his ballhandling and shooting abilities. Nash is able to collapse defenses in the way that he does, and push the tempo as relentlessly as he does, because he's able to get to any spot on the floor with the ball in his hand. He can drive to any part of the court, never lose his dribble, and never picks it up either. Spiting his ever increasing age, his comparative lack of athleticism and the disease spondylolisthesis that is his permanent companion, Nash gets wherever he wants to go, not necessarily where the defense wants him to go. And when he gets there, that's when the passing skill takes over.

Furthermore, Nash scores ridiculously efficiency for any man, and not just an unathletic average sized point guard. Nash is one of only six players in the history of the sport (Mark Price, Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, Jose freaking Calderon) to be a member of the 50/40/90 Club; that is, over the course of a full season, to shoot over 50% from the field, 40% from three point range and 90% from the free throw line. He is one of only two players to have done it more than once, the other being Bird. And he's done it more times than Bird. Nash does this while shooting almost exclusively jumpshots; roughly 85% of his field goal attempts are jumpshots, and they're not just open shots either. Nash hits off the dribble, falling away, contested, from two point range, three point range, over two defenders, in the clutch, in can't-miss situations....everything. And he does so with ridiculously good efficiency.

He has simply got to be the best off-the-dribble shooter there's ever been. If he's not the best overall jumpshooter ever, too, then he's damn close. And that's a pass first player we're talking about.

Defensively is a different story. Despite his good positional sense when it comes to taking charges, Nash is pretty easy to get around on the perimeter, and he doesn't have great hands either. But that story isn't as fun to tell, so why tell it?

Nash represents a true one of a kind. He is an elite talent, dynamic, creative, entertaining, a player around whom entire offensive schemes have been devised and copied league wide. He is personal, funny and nice, and unashamed to wear a terrible haircut for over a decade. He is unbelievably good at what he does, and still underappreciated even after back to back MVP awards. What's not to like?

[Risensun]

no doubt about it.
2× NBA Most Valuable Player: 2005, 2006
7× NBA All-Star: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
7× All-NBA selection:
First team: 2005, 2006, 2007
Second team: 2008, 2010
Third team: 2002, 2003
2× NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge winner: 2005, 2010
4× NBA regular season leader for assists per game: 2005 (11.5), 2006 (10.5), 2007 (11.6), 2010 (11.0)[10]
4× NBA regular season leader for total assists: 2005 (861), 2006 (826), 2007 (884), 2010 (892)[10]
2× NBA regular season leader for free-throw percentage: 2006 (.921), 2010 (.938)[10]
6× NBA regular season leader for assists per 48 minutes: 2004 (12.6),[59] 2005 (16.1),[60] 2006 (14.2),[61] 2007 (15.8),[62] 2008 (15.5),[63] 2010 (16.1)
5x member of 50-40-90 Club: (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Has more 50-40-90 seasons than any other player in NBA history
One of only five players to have ever shot 50-40-90
One of only two players to have shot 50-40-90 more than once
Only player to have shot 50-40-90 five seasons in a row

NEED MORE?

This. Top 5 PG and probably the best shooter of all time as well.

[NYK 455]

He's already top 5, could finish number 2.

[willbsn13]

no doubt about it.
2× NBA Most Valuable Player: 2005, 2006
7× NBA All-Star: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
7× All-NBA selection:
First team: 2005, 2006, 2007
Second team: 2008, 2010
Third team: 2002, 2003
2× NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge winner: 2005, 2010
4× NBA regular season leader for assists per game: 2005 (11.5), 2006 (10.5), 2007 (11.6), 2010 (11.0)[10]
4× NBA regular season leader for total assists: 2005 (861), 2006 (826), 2007 (884), 2010 (892)[10]
2× NBA regular season leader for free-throw percentage: 2006 (.921), 2010 (.938)[10]
6× NBA regular season leader for assists per 48 minutes: 2004 (12.6),[59] 2005 (16.1),[60] 2006 (14.2),[61] 2007 (15.8),[62] 2008 (15.5),[63] 2010 (16.1)
5x member of 50-40-90 Club: (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Has more 50-40-90 seasons than any other player in NBA history
One of only five players to have ever shot 50-40-90
One of only two players to have shot 50-40-90 more than once
Only player to have shot 50-40-90 five seasons in a row

NEED MORE?

In terms of court vision and efficiency,Nash is the pext PG of all time, and this explains it. And that Shamsports article is awesome too

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

Five years ago I posted a thread titled as so.. "Top five point guards in the NBA five years from now"
I can't remember the names on the list but I had Nash at number 1 at the time. I got rosted for it though and everyone said that Nash in five years (from 2004) would be done and on the decline. I have yet to see that and I think he had arguably his best season last year. He's still going strong and in my opinion is better than John Stockton who I watched a ton of growing up. True that Stockton was the better defender but Stockton could never carry a team and never had to. Stockton never made my jaw drop with hair raising plays either. Nash is the greatest ever in my opinion. I don't care if he isn't a lockdown defender he makes each and every player on his team better.

[JohnVancouver]

I hate to try and limit the best PG's to five -

I mean, Jerry West was a 2, if what we mean is primary ballhandler and initiated the offense

I can't leave Clyde out of the top 5 - but his numbers don't come close to Steve's


very tough call

in no order -

Cousy - check, no question. Changed the game forever
Stockton - defined the position
Magic - a power forward who played like Cousy .. ridiculous. Only saw him play once and he was ... magical. he lit the entire stadium up

after that .... i declare a several-ways tie.

Payton was a great., great pl,ayer but i think he is just below this list. in this case his superb defense is more of a factor than his actual PG skills. i watched the Sonics for years, being in vancouver, and i know how good he is. I just dont' see him this high


I always disliked Isiah so the hell with him

[NYK 455]

Five years ago I posted a thread titled as so.. "Top five point guards in the NBA five years from now"
I can't remember the names on the list but I had Nash at number 1 at the time. I got rosted for it though and everyone said that Nash in five years (from 2004) would be done and on the decline. I have yet to see that and I think he had arguably his best season last year. He's still going strong and in my opinion is better than John Stockton who I watched a ton of growing up. True that Stockton was the better defender but Stockton could never carry a team and never had to. Stockton never made my jaw drop with hair raising plays either. Nash is the greatest ever in my opinion. I don't care if he isn't a lockdown defender he makes each and every player on his team better.

Bold ass prediction, surpassing Magic in 5 years would be pretty much impossible unless he won 4-5 MVPs and 4-5 rings, during that time, which he didn't do, but he's certainly done enough to be in the top 5. I think when it's all said and done, he'll be number 2. He already has the second best peak a PG has ever had besides Magic.