Be it the flair or the hair, it's becoming impossible for basketball fans not to love Steve Nash. The captivating Canadian put on yet another improbable show last night, leading his Phoenix Suns to a 121-118 win over Dallas in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Nash's 27 points and 16 assists led TNT analysts Chuck Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller to wish they had brought ball shoes instead of loafers so they could play with Nash. Barkley went so far as to call Nash "one bad whiteboy" (his best line of the interview was when he asked "Hey Steve? Do y'all ever even talk about playing defense?" Classic Chuck.). With back-to-back MVP's and now a real shot at winning a Title this year, Nash is becoming part of the "greatest point guards ever" talk.

Rightfully so? I don't think so. He's been brilliant this season, but Nash has a long way to go to stack up with not only the Magic's and Big O's and Stockton's, but to even be considered the best point guard since Stockton. Ahead of him on the list? Gary Payton and Jason Kidd. Both have had stronger and more consistent careers than Stevie, and were better all around players. Now keep in mind, I grew up a Sonics fan and Payton's my 2nd favorite player of all-time (1.Shawn Kemp 2.GP 3.Kevin Garnett 4.Chris Webber), so I'm biased. But I believe had Payton played in New York, LA, Chicago, or Boston he'd be mentioned as a top-5 all-time point guard, not barely cracking the Top 10.

Comparing career stats for these three is difficult. Whereas Payton and Kidd have been consistently good for a long time, Nash had such a slow start, and as you'll see, that's really the biggest point in all of this. Nash didn't start more than half of his teams' games until his 5th season, which means he's only been playing at a high level for 6 years. Payton's career averages have dropped because he continues to hang on at age 37, but he had 10 seasons of averaging at least 19 points and 7 assists, garnering 9 all-star selections in that time. Kidd has been consistent from the get-go, and although he hasn't been quite the same since microfracture surgery last season, that's still at least 10 all-star-type years on his resume.

SCORING:
Kidd: 14.6 PPG (FG%: 40.2, 3pt%: 33.2, FT%: 77.9)
Nash: 13.5 PPG (FG%: 47.7, 3pt%: 42.1, FT%: 89.6)
Payton 16.9 PPG (FG%: 46.7, 3pt%: 31.9, FT%: 73)
Nash is certainly the best shooter of the group, and I was suprised to see that Kidd has better percentages from 3 and from the charity stripe than Payton, however GP's only taken 95 more 3's in his career, but has taken 1221 more free throws. When you look at their career totals, it shows that Payton is clearly a better scorer than Nash. In his 6 years as a fulltime starter, only three times (not including his MVP year last year, where he averaged 15.5) did Nash average more than 16 a game, whereas Payton has averaged 16+ in a season 10 TIMES and JKidd has done it 4 times. Not only that but GP scored more than Nash's career high of 18.8 of this season 9 TIMES IN HIS CAREER!! Payton and Kidd both are more effective at driving the lane than Stevie (with Payton basically inventing the 13 foot floater shot that so many small guys use now), and Payton's one of the best low-post scoring point guards ever.
ADVANTAGE: PAYTON

PASSING:
Kidd: 9.2 APG, 3.5 TOPG, 2.8 Asst/TO
Nash: 7.1 APG, 2.4 TOPG, 2.54 Asst/TO
Payton 6.9 APG, 2.3 TOPG, 3 Asst/TO
Another category where Nash's last two seasons have skewed people's perception of how his career compares to the other 2. Nash fans will quickly want to point out that career averages are a misleading stat for him because of his lower totals his first 5 years. However, in Nash's 4 seasons as a starter in Dallas, only one year- his last in 03-04- did he average more than 7.7 assists, and that was 8.8 a game. His two MVP seasons in Phoenix have shown a big jump in assists, but it's ONLY TWO SEASONS. I'd give the clear edge to Kidd in this category because in his 13 NBA seasons, he's averaged MORE THAN 8.8 a game 10 times, and in the three seasons he didn't his averages were 7.7 (his rookie year), and in his last two it was 8.3 and 8.4. No doubt Payton's 3rd in this category but his numbers for a point guard are still well above the norm.
ADVANTAGE: KIDD

REBOUNDING:
Kidd: 6.5 RPG
Nash: 2.8 RPG
Payton 4.5 RPG
Here's where Kidd is underappreciated. There's plenty of forwards and centers in the league today who can't average 6.5 rebounds a game in one season, let alone over a 13 year career (I'm talking to you, Eddy Curry)! This is part of the reason why Kidd is one of the best ever leading the fast break, because many times he STARTS the fast break! Payton's still a good rebounder for the position, and Nash is about where you expect him to be.
ADVANTAGE: KIDD

DEFENSE:
Kidd: 2.2 Stl, .3 blk
Nash: .8 Stl, .1 blk
Payton 2.1 Stl, .2 blk
NBA All-defense: Payton 8 (all were 1st team selections), Kidd 8 (1st-5 times, 2nd-3 times), Nash 0
This is where The Glove really shines, and where Nash really drops. Kidd has been a solid defender his entire career as his 8 All-Defensive selections show (although how in the hell did he get voted 1st team this year?), and Nash has a better chance of dunking in a game (which he never has) than being called a good defender. GP? One of the best defensive players ever, at any position. I never saw Walt "Clyde" Frazier of the New York Knicks play back in the '70's, but people who have forgotten more about basketball than I'll never know claim he's the best ever. Fine, if that's true than I'm all the more impressed with Frazier because Payton, as his 8 FIRST TEAM ALL-NBA DEFENSE selections, along with winning the Defensive Player of the Year in '95-'96, show he was one helluva defender.
ADVANTAGE: PAYTON

AWARDS:
Titles: Payton, Kidd, Nash- 0
Finals: Kidd 2, Payton 1, Nash 0
MVP: Nash 2, Kidd & Payton 0
All-Star: Payton 9, Kidd 7, Nash 4
All-NBA 1st Team: Kidd 5, Payton 2, Nash 1
All-NBA 2nd Team: Payton 4, Kidd 1, Nash 0,

You can't "throw out" Nash's 2 MVP awards, as he's been one of the best players in the league the past 2 seasons. However, those 2 seasons don't blow away the best 2 for Payton or Kidd, and that's before we even look at Nash's inability to play defense. Nash's last two years have been great, but none of his 4 seasons in Dallas as a starter compare to Payton and Kidd's averages in their 10 best years, let alone 4. Both guys have been consistently great for 10 years each, and when looking at who's had the best careers, MVP's or not Nash just doesn't compare. As for Payton and Kidd, although Kidd's a better passer and rebounder, I would take Payton's scoring and defense, along with solid numbers for a PG passing and grabbing boards, over JKidd.

But that's just me.