when durability is being questioned. Also, yeah he played for 20 years and is the all time assists leader, but by his 12th season he had accounted for 7 of the top 10 highest assist seasons in NBA history. When people say that he was one of the 3 greatest passers of all time, obviously there is no way to quantify that; but very few people who followed the game in the 80s & 90s would argue it. He led the NBA in assists every year in a half-court offense that required pinpoint passing. That should suffice.

As for durability, aside from missing 20 games (!) after offseason micro fracture surgery, he missed less than 10 games his entire career. Every time the Jazz ran a pick and roll, he was asked to not just set a screen, but to contain Karl Malone's man - usually a power forward. Probably 40+ times per game. Nash never set a pick and couldn't stop anyone. I had season tickets for Nash's last 3 seasons with the Mavs, and he was one of the most exciting players I've ever seen. He was one of my favorite players, starting from when he was a freshman at Santa Clara, and a primary reason the Mavs were able to become contenders; but he also broke down at the end of every season, and at the end of most games in the 2nd half of the season. He could penetrate into the lane, but couldn't finish at the basket in a half court set; instead he had to settle for jumpers for the free throw line, or pass out of a double team under the rim. Maybe being a 6'4" point guard took too much of a toll and led to his back and ankle problems, but playing at an all star level for 15 seasons "has to count for something" right?

As for your conveniently cherry-picked shooting stats - Nash was a great 3 point shooter. Stockton played most of his career in a different era, for a team that barely shot many 3s. Many of his contemporaries said that he could have been one of the league's leading scorers - if he had wanted to. In the 80s & early 90s, he was routinely the only guard in the Top 10 of FG%, higher than all other 1s and 2s (you may be too young to remember those days), and practically invented the pull-up 3. Instead he understood that championships are won by pass-first point guards. The Jazz made it to 2 Finals because of him, while the Suns missed the Finals because of Nash - and not coincidentally the Mavs made it to the Finals the year after he left.

He had some great years playing with the Suns, being surrounded by all time great finishers in a fast paced, record-high usage rate offense that hid his deficiencies, and I enjoyed watching him, but Nash himself would probably agree that Stockton was better, and said as much in many post game interviews where he expressed his admiration. Stockton also wouldn't have hung on for 2 extra years to get paid - he routinely took less $ so the team could sign a better team around him.

But Nash shot 3s better. That counts for something.