The duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal dominated the NBA from 2000 to 2002 and are often touted as the most lethal duo in basketball history. In the 2002 NBA Finals, the duo completed their three-peat after sweeping the Jason Kidd-led New Jersey Nets. Despite Shaq and Kobe’s brilliant accomplishment, one of the best players of the late 2000s, Paul Pierce, thinks that Jason Kidd was the best player in the NBA in 2002.
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Recently, The Truth appeared on the Forgotten Seasons podcast and crowned Kidd as the “best player’’ on the planet for the year 2002. For Pierce, Jason Kidd’s floor management skills were through the roof at the time and the 2011 NBA champion remains an “underrated” player in the league’s annals. The Celtics legend also admitted that he felt “helpless” while tackling the inspiring PG.
“I thought J Kidd, me personally thought J Kidd was the best player in the world in 2002. Dude had eyes in the back of his head. The way he controlled the game, the way he passed the ball. His IQ is off the charts. He is historically, I believe, underrated. I just felt helpless on what you can do with him out there,” Pierce told Forgotten Seasons
The 2008 NBA champion also admired the former Nets guard’s ability to control the game despite not having a reliable jump shot early in his career. He alluded to the former Nets guard’s passing vision, especially in a fastbreak situation. Pierce pointed out that apart from just a few players, including Magic Johnson, Kidd’s dimes remain unmatched in NBA history.
“A guy who wasn’t a great shooter but found ways to get to the basket even when you backed off of him. Just unstoppable in transition. Even when you score, if they get the ball out fast, he’s pushing the ball. He’s making passes, only J Kidd, only like three or four players in NBA history can make. Him, probably, Magic Johnson, Jason “White Chocolate” Williams, probably, that’s it, John Stockton maybe,” added Pierce.
Thus, despite Shaq’s unparalleled low-post domination and Bryant’s all-around offensive game, it was Kidd who resonated the most with Pierce. In that wake, let us examine how the two former Lakers champions fared against the assists maestro in 2002.
H2H comparisons between Kidd and the Lakers duo in 2002
Kidd’s New Jersey Nets and the Lakers clashed twice during the 2002-03 season. They split the season’s series, but in both instances, Bryant and O’Neal each missed a fixture. On March 5, 2002, the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers defeated the Nets 101-92 as Shaquille O’Neal stacked up 40 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. Meanwhile, Kidd compiled 19 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. Although he had impressive stats, he shot just 8/25 from the floor and 2/10 from the three-point line.
On April 3, 2002, the Nets squeezed out a clutch 94-92 win against the O’Neal-less Lakers. During the win, the savvy PG eked out 13 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal, while shooting 5/7 from the floor. Meanwhile, in the loss, the Mamba had 33 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal, while shooting 14/30 from the floor. The two teams would eventually clash in the NBA Finals, where the Lakers won 4-0 to complete yet another three-peat in their franchise’s history.
Finals MVP Shaq dominated with 36.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.7 blocks per game. On the other hand, Bryant scooped up 26.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Apart from that, Kidd compiled 20.8 points, 9.8 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game for the Nets.
