Steve Nash and Jason Kidd battled for years as the league's top point guards in the early 2000s. Now with both nearly a decade removed from their playing days, the pair of Hall of Famers face off as head coaches.

Kidd's young Dallas Mavericks squad made a surprise push to the Western Conference finals last season. Nash, on the other hand, has had a rocky stretch with Brooklyn marred by internal turmoil. Despite being a source of criticism for his team's struggles, Kidd had high praise for his former rival Thursday ahead of Dallas' matchup with Brooklyn.

“He's one of the better coaches in this league,” Jason Kidd said of Nash. “His IQ is off the charts. So I know he's getting a lot of slack or a lot of finger-pointing. But he's a young coach. You got to give him time, too.”

“His IQ is off the charts, his work ethic,” the Mavs coach continued. “The way he works is the same as if he was playing. He's going to be detail-oriented, and he's going to put his guys in a position to be successful. “

Brooklyn's summer was dominated by Kevin Durant's trade request. The 12-time All-Star issued an ultimatum to owner Joe Tsai in August, calling for Nash and General Manager Sean Marks to be fired. Kidd also played against and shares a relationship with Marks. The former Net did not hold back when asked if he empathized with Nash and Marks this summer.

“Hell yeah. That’s not fun. They’re human, and it’s unfortunate But you go through it. You learn,” he said. “But that’s business. It happens, but those two are good young men. I think I’m older than Nash by a couple days. But it just — they had to go through it. Everyone goes through it, and they'll come out on the better end of it.”

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Joey Mistretta ·

Mavericks' Jason Kidd saying the following: Updates Mavericks' logo in background.

Joey Mistretta ·

Dereck Lively II (Mavericks) looking serious.

Joey Mistretta ·

Whether Nash will come out of the situation unscathed remains to be seen. The first-time coach is now in his third season with the Nets. Brooklyn is off to a 1-3 start following a tough opening slate that featured New Orleans, Toronto, Memphis and Milwaukee.

Nash will look to get the Nets back on track against Jason Kidd and the Mavericks Thursday. And the two-time MVP said coaching against his old friend has been a great experience throughout his young coaching career.

“It’s been great,” Steve Nash said of the Mavs coach. We played against each other in college, worked out together in college sometimes both being in the bay area, so we go way back,” Nash said. “We were teammates in Phoenix and then played against each other for the most part in our careers, so a lot of history and we have great relationship and I’m excited for all his successes and it’s great to be able to compete against him still.”