Kidd and Hill share co-retirement of the year

They entered the league together nearly two decades ago.  It's only fitting that they'd leave together.  In 1995, Jason Kidd and Grant Hill shared a rare tie for the Rookie of the Year award.  They quickly rose to stardom in the mid-late 90's before their careers took very different turns.

The Dallas Mavericks made Kidd the second overall selection in the '94 draft.  Teaming with Jimmy

Jackson and Jamal Mashburn to form the Three J's, Kidd helped lead the once struggling franchise back to respectability.  The turnaround wouldn't last long, as tension between coaches and teammates forced the Mavs to trade a disgruntled Kidd to Phoenix mid-way through his third season.  It seemed like a bad idea to give up on their star point guard at the time and the decision would only prove to be more damaging over time as Kidd developed into a Hall of Fame player.

The Suns showed immediate improvement after trading for Kidd, making the playoffs in each of the five seasons he was there.  Kidd was an All-Star in three of those seasons, in which he also led the league in assist those years.  His presence left a young Steve Nash with little playing time behind him, resulting in the future two time MVP being traded (ironically, to Dallas, as if the Suns were trying to make it up to the Mavs for stealing one star point guard away from them).  Kidd's time in the desert would end with yet another regrettable trade, with the Suns shipping him to New Jersey for Stephon Marbury.

Kidd would lead the Nets to their best seasons in franchise history, making consecutive Finals appearances.  They fell to the Shaq's Lakers in 2002 and Duncan's Spurs in 2003, but Kidd's arrival turned a league doormat into a title contender instantaneously.  He would eventually earn that elusive championship ring after ending up back in Dallas, the team that drafted him.  He helped the Mavs upset the Miami Heat in the 2011 Finals as a key role player.

Kidd will undoubtedly be a first ballot Hall of Famer.  His uncanny court vision and instincts made him one

of the most dangerous players in the league on the fast break and one of the best point guards of this generation.  The 10-time All-Star finishes second on the all-time list in assists and steals.  Despite entering the league with a reputation as an awful shooter, Kidd adjusted his game later in his career.  As age deprived him of many of his other skills, Kidd remained a useful role player at the end of his career by developing into a three point specialist.  As surprising as it would seem to those that watched him play in his early years, Kidd improved his outside shot so much that he ended up finishing third all-time in three pointers made.  He's also one of the best rebounding point guards ever, with a career average of 6.3 rebounds per game that would make even some forwards envious.  Only Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson have recorded more career triple-doubles than Kidd.  He would finish with career averages of 12.6 points, 8.7 assists and 1.9 steals.

The Detroit Pistons selected Grant Hill with the pick right after Kidd was taken.  Early in his career Hill was not only one of the league's most popular players, he was quickly establishing himself as one of the best.  He became the first rookie in any major sport to lead the league in All-Star voting during his impressive debut season that resulted in a co-ROY award.  He was a seven time All-Star, including 5 of his first 6 years in the league (the lockout shortened 1999 season didn't have an All-Star game, although I suppose being voted in to the 2001 All-Star game despite playing only 4 games that season makes up for that).  Starting in his second season, Hill made the All-NBA 1st or 2nd team five straight times.  Like his fellow rookie star, Hill was a triple-double machine in his early years.  He joins Wilt Chamberlain in an exclusive club as the only players ever to lead their team in points, rebounds and assists per game three times.  During his early years in Detroit, Hill had racked up such impressive totals in those three categories that only Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and LeBron James have surpassed him in all three categories after six full seasons.

Going based on those first six years with Detroit it appeared that Hill was well on his way to a Hall of Fame

career.  While his early years were so good that he may end up getting in eventually anyway, his case becomes more difficult to make due to his career unraveling following recurring ankle injuries that shortened the prime of his career.  Hill first injured his ankle shortly after signing with Orlando.  The Magic planned to team Hill with budding superstar Tracey McGrady to become a force in the Eastern Conference, but those plans went up in flames thanks to Hills troublesome ankle.  He would play in only 47 games during his first four seasons with Orlando, including missing the entire 2003-04 season.

Hill would return to play 67 games with Orlando the following season, in which he showed flashes of his old self.  He even made his 7th All-Star appearance that season, although it would be the last time he would get voted in to the game.  The injury bug would return again to wipe out most of his '05-'06 season, which had him contemplating retirement due to all the injuries that were piling up.  When he did manage to return to the court, he was never the same player again.

Moving to Phoenix may have saved his career, as the Suns have long been known to have the league's best medical staff.  The same guy that missed far more games than he played over the past six seasons never played less than 70 games in his first four seasons with the Suns (his 5th season he played only 49 due mostly to the lockout).  While he lacked the explosiveness that once made him one of the league's best players, Hill managed to extend his career by adjusting to become a veteran role player.  He provided valuable leadership and stingy defense while still managing to post double digit scoring averages. 

After leaving the miracle medical staff in Phoenix to try to latch on to a contending Clippers team, Hill's

injury issues popped up once again, leading to one last season of minimal impact before deciding to hang up his sneakers.  He leaves the game as one of the greatest "What If" stories of this generation as well as one of the classiest players to ever play the game.

Jason Kidd and Grant Hill will always be linked by their rookie season that saw them take the league by storm.  They started out on the same path, ended up going very separate ways, but joined together again at the end.  Nearly two decades ago they shared the Rookie of the Year award.  Now that their playing days have come to an end, they should share one more award together: Co-Retirement of the Year.