Marty Burns: Steve Nash over Jason Kidd and Gary Payton for Hall of Fame

One of my readers over at Jones on the NBA sent me a link to a Marty Burns piece in which Burns reviews which NBA veterans he thinks will eventually make the NBA Hall of Fame. My reader, Adrian, is an avid Steve Nash fan that normally only comments when I post about Nash, so I figured this Burns piece had to be pro Nash.

In the piece, Burns breaks down the players into five categories: "no-brainers", "probably in, but have to think about it", "bubble candidates", "early hall potential has since faded away", and "as for everyone else". For the purpose of the post, Burns only considers players that have played nine or more seasons in the league. Along with Shaq, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash was able to crack Burns' "no-brainer" list. Meanwhile, Jason Kidd and Gary Payton only made his "probably in, but have to think about it" list. I guess this was supposed to be some kind of proof to me that Steve Nash has had a better career than both Jason Kidd and Payton.

I've explained this before, and I'll explain it again: While Steve Nash is certainly the best point guard in the game today and has had three straight incredible seasons, that doesn't allow him to catapult over guys like J-Kidd and Payton. Kidd and Payton are players that at one point in their careers played ten or so seasons where they were both one of the top offensive and defensive guards in the entire league. On defense, Nash will never be able to accumulate the numbers and accolades that those two players have compiled. As well, on offense, Nash will have to play for at least five more years at his current level to even come close to accumulating the numbers and statistics that Payton and Kidd have compiled. He may very well get there one day, but until then, to have him catapult over Payton and Kidd in hall of fame worthiness is ridiculous. Lastly, Payton and Kidd both have Nash beat in All-Star, All-Defensive, All-NBA, and Finals apperances. So I just don't see where Nash has them beat on hall worthiness.

Previously at Fanhouse:

Comparing Steve Nash to the All-Time Great Point Guards