Comparison players thread (Amare / Kemp, Magic / Stockton / Isiah)

[AHF]

Nash was a better scorer and much worse defender than Stockton. They were pretty similar as passers but I think Nash was more of a product of his system than was Stockton. Stockton could excel in both the halfcourt and the fastbreak. Nash struggles a bit in the half court. His double digit assists seasons literally all happened in Phoenix under that D'Antoni system. He went from a career high at age 29 in Dallas of 8.8 apg to his Phoenix run of 10+ to 6.7 apg in LA.

[Guest]

Nash was a better scorer and much worse defender than Stockton. They were pretty similar as passers but I think Nash was more of a product of his system than was Stockton. Stockton could excel in both the halfcourt and the fastbreak. Nash struggles a bit in the half court. His double digit assists seasons literally all happened in Phoenix under that D'Antoni system. He went from a career high at age 29 in Dallas of 8.8 apg to his Phoenix run of 10+ to 6.7 apg in LA.

Ill take Stockton 10/10 times. Pesky defender that would just hound other pg's. loved his grit and determination.

[Admin]

Agreed there's no comparison between Stockton and Nash, except that I'd probably say Nash is the better ball handler and has far better feet than Stockton but Nash is probably the best all time at that with his soccer roots. Nash is probably the better 3pt shooter, although I haven't looked it up.

[NBASupes]

Stockton over Nash and twice on Sundays.

[Guest]

Ill take Stockton 10/10 times. Pesky defender that would just hound other pg's. loved his grit and determination.

Agreed plus he could set a mean screen in the paint.

[Sothron]

I remember Sir Charles talking about how much he hated Stockton because Stockton would set up those nasty screens and Barkley would get hurt running into him. Stockton is the best point guard in NBA history. I don't think it is up for debate.

[NBASupes]

I remember Sir Charles talking about how much he hated Stockton because Stockton would set up those nasty screens and Barkley would get hurt running into him. Stockton is the best point guard in NBA history. I don't think it is up for debate.

Magic Johnson?

[Admin]

Magic Johnson?

Don't think you can really consider him a PG. Even if you do, he's still not a better PG than Stockton. Stockton had 5,000 (33%) more assists than Magic did. Now if you wanna say who was the better player then you definitely go Magic. I would put Kidd and Nash up there with Stockton as the best PGs of all time but would still take Stockton.

[AHF]

Don't think you can really consider him a PG. Even if you do, he's still not a better PG than Stockton. Stockton had 5,000 (33%) more assists than Magic did. Now if you wanna say who was the better player then you definitely go Magic. I would put Kidd and Nash up there with Stockton as the best PGs of all time but would still take Stockton.

I don't like the idea of saying "well, Magic was a better player but Stockton was a better PG." It seems counter-intuitive to me to break it down into a technicality. If the guy plays PG and is the better player, then he is the better PG, IMO. I don't think we do this with any other position - guys like Dirk aren't faux PFs just because they shoot jumpers and a guy doesn't lose his ability to be a wing just because he can rebound the ball like a beast. Magic's versatility made him a better PG. (I get that if a player isn't a facilitator he might not be a better PG like Russell Westbrook but that isn't the case when you are talking about Magic. He did all the facilitating you could want and then some.)

On the assists, Stockton had significantly more assists but that doesn't necessarily mean he was a better facilitator. Magic had more assists per game so it kind of shows you that the number of seasons was a big part in this. I don't penalize Magic for stopping playing when he did but would argue that they were similarly amazing talents passing the ball. I think if you switched Magic and Stockton that the Jazz would have a title on their mantle so I would rank him higher than Stockton if you are picking which PG you want to lead your team to a title.

Edited June 5, 2014 by AHF

[Sothron]

Magic Johnson?

Still going with Stockton. Magic was more of a combo player than a pure point guard.

[NBASupes]

Magic was a PG to me so he is easily the GOAT at that position. It's counter intuitive to say otherwise since Magic has always been listed as a PG.

[AHF]

Still going with Stockton. Magic was more of a combo player than a pure point guard.

You put any 4 together and on one side add Stockton and on the other add Magic. I'll take the side with Magic.

[Sothron]

You put any 4 together and on one side add Stockton and on the other add Magic. I'll take the side with Magic.

Your team would lose to my team then. No one was better at PG than John Stockton.

[AHF]

Your team would lose to my team then. No one was better at PG than John Stockton.

I'd like to see it play out. I feel the exact opposite and I am a big Stockton fan.

[Sothron]

I'd like to see it play out. I feel the exact opposite and I am a big Stockton fan.

We'll never know the answer to this conundrum.

[AHF]

We'll never know the answer to this conundrum.

We won't. The best we get is their college ball, nba ball, exhibition (All-Star games), Olympic ball and purely hypothetical scenarios.

I'll tell you this, though, I'd love to see either guy lead the Hawks for the next decade under Bud.

[Guest]

This is a tough one. If you are playing with 4 guys off the street I think Magic's team would win. His free flowing feel of the game was so instinctual, he saw plays before they developed. Stockton worked more within a structured system.

I'll take either one on the Hawks though.

[rd79]

We'll never know the answer to this conundrum.

Dosn't NBA2K features classic players? So make your teams there and check it [/joke]

[Guest]

I'd take Magic's squad over Stockton's squad. I love Stockton but Magic is a flat out winner. He would just win in big games most of the time.

[Admin]

Well you gotta go with Magic as he could defend Stockton but Stockton wouldn't have any ability to stop Magic from just posting him up all game.

Now what if you put 4 Josh Smith's out there with Magic? I don't think even he could win with that.