Sep.19 at 2:08 pm

Reggie Evans says:
tough call

Sep.19 at 2:14 pm

Ryan Jones says:
Magic.

Sep.19 at 2:17 pm

H to the izzo says:
If Stockton was black,he wouldn’t be…

Sep.19 at 2:19 pm

Mo Charlo says:
Jason Williams.

Sep.19 at 2:19 pm

white hot eboy says:
Stock, because you never had to drop a letter from his name for lack of a J.

Sep.19 at 2:20 pm

Mo Charlo says:
For some reason, my comment, preceded by Izzo’s comment makes waaay too much sense. Except it should be, “If John Stockton was black, he would be Jason Williams.”

Sep.19 at 2:20 pm

Tarzan Cooper says:
mr. triple dub

Sep.19 at 2:21 pm

Tarzan Cooper says:
although stock still looked good when he retired

Sep.19 at 2:22 pm

H to the izzo says:
Was thinking the same thing,Mo

Sep.19 at 2:26 pm

nothin _personal says:
With the possible exception of Bob Cousy, that we never saw playing, i think Stockton is the best pure point guard ever. And Magic was twice the player that stockton was.

Sep.19 at 2:28 pm

H to the izzo says:
Magic was the best,there really should be no debating that.

Sep.19 at 2:31 pm

Ty says:
Kidd of course u crazy to think stockton, kidd is good going right or left using either or and u never seen stockton throw a pass like kidd or damn near to anybodyelse but malone get 4real.

Sep.19 at 2:35 pm

nothin _personal says:
Stockton was great because he didn’t have to control his teams game at all times, holding on to the ball until he could score an assist. Unlike Nash and Kidd, in most cases, he would go down, initiate the offense, and execute his role in that set play. (In every other occasion, he would run the pick and roll!). This was good for his team, it allowed more flexibility. And Magic was not a point Guard. He was a complete basketball player with great passing and dribbling skills.

Sep.19 at 2:36 pm

white hot eboy says:
Magic is the #1 spot for sure, but twice as good as Stockton is pushing things. Magic played on unreal teams for most of his career, Stock played with one incredibly good player for his. That’s a huge difference, plus 8 inches in height didn’t hurt Magic’s cause.

Sep.19 at 2:43 pm

H to the izzo says:
NP:Are you saying that Stockton was good because he was a role player?

Sep.19 at 2:44 pm

Slick Nick Da Ruler says:
Stockton: Alltime leader in assists and steals. He maximized offensive possessions and and limited defensive liabilities. He took the ball away from opposing teams, so he could create assists on the offensive side. Complete efficiency.

Sep.19 at 2:44 pm

Ryan Jones says:
I think NP’s saying Stockton’s good because he was a roll player.

Sep.19 at 2:55 pm

white hot eboy says:
Very cute, Jones.

Sep.19 at 3:07 pm

Myles Brown says:
Stockton.

Sep.19 at 3:44 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
John Stockton never got enough credit.

Sep.19 at 3:50 pm

Myles Brown says:
And I dont know if I liked how they made the comparison between accolades since Stockton played in an era where there were alot more PGs. I think he was just as good of a defender as Kidd, but the numbers wont really show it.

Sep.19 at 3:53 pm

SteveSmith#8fan says:
I agree Russ. I can only think of one or two Stockton articles in SLAM.

Sep.19 at 4:14 pm

Adrian says:
Touche SteveSmith

Sep.19 at 4:29 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
Luckily he made enough money to buy plenty of off-brand Polo shirts and khakis. Dude was like the Keyzer Soze of the NBA–played out his career and, poof, he was gone.

Sep.19 at 4:32 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
Dude got his share of SLAM love. He wasn’t the kind of guy to do much press, though.

Sep.19 at 4:33 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
Miles: I’m sure “NetsDailyBlog” isn’t biased towards Kidd or anything.

Sep.19 at 4:34 pm

d.Y. says:
in a way, stock was a role player. he wasn’t the fastest or most athletic, and you could say that many pgs were better overall ballers. stock was the best at doing his job, running an offense and disrupting the opponents’ O.

Sep.19 at 4:42 pm

Myles Brown says:
I do think they were trying to be fair though Mr. Bengston. But maybe they just weren’t that thorough and failed to make the comparison of different eras. As always, I could be wrong.

Sep.19 at 5:08 pm

Tarzan Cooper says:
haha russ, myles is clowning on your name again.

Sep.19 at 5:10 pm

Myles Brown says:
He started it.

Sep.19 at 5:10 pm

albie1kenobi says:
stockton had microfracture and played til 41? that’s insane.
anyway this is a really tough call, if i’m picking for my squad, i’m going with kidd since he’s one of my all time fav player (and we have geogrpahical alliance with Jersey and Cal); but if it’s just about who’s better, stockton would probably have to take the cake. too bad i didn’t stop hating stockton long enough to actually appreciate his game when he played (i was too immature as a basketball purist).

Sep.19 at 5:15 pm

Allenp says:
DY Stockton wasn’t slow or unathletic. Reference Steve Kerr’s story of how Stockton completely dominated him physically when he went to a tryout for a scholarship to Gonzaga, which in turn led Kerr to Arizona. Stockton was a much better shooter, Kidd was a better rebounder. They were equal as passers and defenders in my opinion. So it’s pretty much a toss up depending on who’s style of play you liked. And if Magic gets docked for having an unreal team around him, how many extra points does Kidd get for never playing with great talent, yet still managing to make most of his team competitive? And the argumetn that Magic was not a pure point is freaking stupid. I’d like one person who says that to actually define what a true point does, and then prove that Magic didn’t do it. The argument is built around the idea that Magic was too tall to play the one.

Sep.19 at 6:33 pm

sush carter says:
yeah, like “completely dominating (kerr) physically” could have been that hard…kerr’s wife probably does the same…does that make mrs.kerr more athletic than jason kidd?

Sep.19 at 6:35 pm

truthismygame says:
if i had to pick between Kidd or Stockton at their primes, i think i’d go with Kidd.. but in the back of my mind is Stockton’s complete offensive efficiency, when he gets an opening in clutch situations i wouldn’t even expect him to miss.. whereas Kidd inexplicably still can’t shoot..

Sep.19 at 7:19 pm

ForzaMilan says:
both played D, in different ways. one shot well, the other rebounded. in comparing them, i take the steals/assist record with a small mental asterisk because he played so damn long, so my gut feel is kidd, if only for the 2003-03 season, where he one-manned NJ to the finals. Anyway, has John ever received serious MVP consideration?

Sep.19 at 7:39 pm

jay n says:
Kidd all the way.I know Stockton was great and all but he wasn’t quite as all-around as kidd and what would’ve really happened had he not had Malone.Kidd has had Kenyon Martin and Rodney Rogers though.hahaha.

Sep.19 at 8:10 pm

Jukai says:
This isn’t even a consideration. Stockton was a far better passer and shooter than Kidd… It’s nonsense to say Kidd is just as good of a passer as Stockton was. Kidd may a slight edge on passing on a drive, but Stockton rules Kidd in a full court scenerio and in a half-court scenerio, especially the pick and roll. I’m not giving Kidd any defensive props either… Kidd plays the passing lanes way better than Stockton, but Stockton was a sick one on one defender. No contest in my mind. Also, why can’t magic be the best point guard ever if he passed better than Stockton and controlled the tempo more often?

Sep.19 at 8:53 pm

Holiday says:
First the whole argument about Kidd reaching the Finals at an earlier age is bull, he was in the Eastern conference at probably it’s weakest point! Detroit wasn’t even together!

Sep.19 at 9:01 pm

Holiday says:
And the argument that Stockton only had to pass to one guy? well woulndn’t that make it harder for based on the fact that everbody know’s where he was passing it! and look at all the guy’s over the year’s Kidd has had to pass too Marion, Stoudemire (Briefly), Micheal Finley, K-Mart, RJ, Vince, and lately Kristic, not to mention Rodney Rodgers, Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn, Kerry Kittles, Kieth Van Horn, Sam Cassel and the list goes on, He should have taken the Assists record at 30 if he was as good a passer as Stockton!

Sep.19 at 9:11 pm

Holiday says:
And I hate to sound like a broken record, but look at the calibur of player’s and teams Stockton competed against (Magic, I.Thomas, Mark Jackson, Gary Payton, Kevin Johnson, Mookie, the list goes on!) Then there’s the teams of course Hakeem’s Rockets, Ewing’s Knicks, Dominiqe’s Hawk’s, all the Celtics, Showtime Lakers, Deroit Bad Boy’s, Drexler’s Blazers, Barkley’s early years with Philly and Dr. J and Moses, please tell me when to stop cause I still aint made it to the best!

Sep.19 at 9:14 pm

Holiday says:
Yeah the best, Stockton lost out to Micheal and the Bulls, and they still got 2 game’s each series, and one of those year’s swept those same Shaq and Kobe Lakers en route to the Finals that swept Kidds Nets!!!!!!!

Sep.19 at 9:18 pm

Holiday says:
But Kidd is dominate……. I mean he did dominate his wife with his fists when she stepped out of line!!!!

Sep.19 at 9:23 pm

bobbo says:
Holiday’s argument is of course bull. The East was not, as Holiday, suggests at its worst point in 2001-02. In fact, the reverse is true, Mr. Holiday. In inter-conference games in 2000-’01: it was the West by a margin of 49 games; in 2001-’02: the West by 22 games; 2002-’03: the West by 35 games; 2003-’04: the West by 51 games; 2004-’05: the West by 27 games; 2005-’06: the West by 31 games; and again in 2006-’07: the West by 31 games. In fact, one can make a VERY strong argument that the Pistons did well in the years when the East was at its weakest.

Sep.19 at 9:25 pm

Holiday says:
All his career Stockton stayed loyal to Utah, in 1996 he even took a paycut to make salary cap room to improve there team, what a class act! Never took endorsments, always stayed true to the game he loved!!!

Sep.19 at 9:26 pm

tike says:
Damn its a great comparsion i mean there both great but i guess ill have to give the nod to Stockon being he hold 2 all time records…plus it says Stockon played til he was 41 i dont see Kidd playing over the age of 39

Sep.19 at 9:31 pm

Holiday says:
Come on Bobbo, you act like if the East is at it’s worst the West is gotta be at it’s best! if that were the case then why did the Lakers walk through the playoffs each year! The east did improve over those years but not like the west, hence Sacramento, Dallas, Phoenix, Utah, Seattle at one point and San Antonio, as well as the Clippers, Houston, Denver, and now Golden state! Stats don’t always tell the truth!

Sep.19 at 9:53 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
Run-and-gun, I take Kidd. Slow-down, grind-it-out I take Stockton. Overall I don’t think you could go wrong either way. I’ll admit, I never knew that Stock only had one career triple-double, but I can’t say I’m all that surprised, either. You know who else only has one? Stephon Marbury. You know how many Karl Malone had? Four.

Sep.19 at 10:58 pm

Holiday says:
Let’s talk about the new Point Guard in Utah for a sec, how long before people start taking him seriously? I mean at this point he’s at least as good as the current Kidd no joke! (2nd in assist’s this season, overall better offensively, and defensivly, and unbelivable potential!)

Sep.19 at 11:45 pm

LordGef says:
Stockton, hands down. Ason is good, but not as consistent. I don’t recall Stockton having as many injuries, turnovers, or losses as Kidd.

Sep.20 at 7:03 am

chase says:
these guys are good in their own ways. kidd for his triple double and stock for being all time leader in steals and assists. but what makes a pg good too are their team mates. stock had malone and kidd had no permanent consistent team mate to depend on. stock got his assist trophy coz of malone who could drive, post and sink mid range shots. while kidd had kmart before but left for money and now has VC and jefferson but these guys are not that consistent. i like to have jkidd on my team but it depends on who you put around him. every team that kidd had went to has experimented on who to put around him, while stock only had one career partner. try to exchange their situations and that’s when you could see who’s the best.

Sep.20 at 9:21 am

forza says:
man, if stockton played today, wouldn’t PHX fans just hate him? He was proclaimed by no less than Rodman as the dirtiest player in the league (Bad as i wanna be). been thinking about it and I revise my opinion because Kidd is a physical beast (really, no joke) and stockton played physically without being particularly endowed. although i don’t ever remember being impressed by his defense. Payton was the standard. although, qualifying it again, since we can see jason’s frailties RIGHT NOW, and stock’s done and will never again be tarnished, we might be inclined to view kidd more negatively than we should. deron is great. I just hope he does the same throughout his career, and perhaps dominating the ball less.

Sep.20 at 1:13 pm

jake says:
You hear a lot of criticism of Stockton’s defense, I guess being the all-time steals leader doesn’t account to being a good defender. I think Kidd and Stockton are two different types of players. Just like Magic and Bird.

Sep.20 at 11:15 pm

Holiday says:
No offense to Magic Johnson, as he was a great player but compare him and Stockton is like comparing a 4 cylinder Honda to a V12 Benz! I mean 6′9 226 lbs, to 6′1 195 lbs and that dosen’t even include wingspan and overall athletic ability, with all due respect maybe with all he had to work with maybe Stockton deserves a little more credit, and a whole lot more respect!!!

Sep.20 at 11:21 pm

Holiday says:
And with the whole all he needed to do was pass the ball to Karl Malone argument, from the same people that constantly ridiculed him! It’s ludicris to think that having only one real option would be better than having multiple options and the element of suprise! It would seem to me that after a while people figure out to stand in front of your only option!

Sep.20 at 11:27 pm

Holiday says:
And maybe the fact that Kidd has been bounce around a little means something! And now Nash has taken the Suns to a place Kidd never could! And don’t give me that “The Jazz choked in the finals” cause you people constantly turn around and contridict yourself by saying Jordan was the Greatest (which I don’t contest) and that team although was not the ‘96 team it was essentially the same thing was the best! so which is it!