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Steve Nash

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Template:Infobox Pro athlete Stephen John Nash (born February 7, 1974 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a Canadian star National Basketball Association player.

Standing just over 6 feet, 3 inches tall, Nash is the starting point guard for the NBA's Phoenix Suns and was named to the NBA All-Star Game in 2005 and 2006. He was also an All-Star in 2002 and 2003 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. In 2005, Nash beat out Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat to win the NBA MVP award. On May 7th 2006, Nash beat out LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers to again win the MVP award, joining Magic Johnson as the only point guards in league history to win the award in back-to-back seasons, and only the 9th player overall in NBA history to repeat. [1]

Biography

Early years

Steve Nash was born in South Africa because of his father's soccer career, but the family relocated to Canada before he was two years old because they did not want to raise their children in an environment of apartheid. As his mother Jean later said, "I didn't want our son to grow up in a place where one group of people was second-class citizens." [2]

Nash comes from an athletic family. His father John Nash was a minor professional soccer player in South Africa. His brother Martin Nash has made 30 appearances for the Canadian national soccer team. His sister Joann was the captain of the University of Victoria soccer team for three years. Nash had decided to focus on basketball in his early teens, but still played soccer through high school, and was named British Columbia player of the year in soccer as well as basketball in his senior year. Since his father is a native of Tottenham, in North London, Nash grew up rooting for Tottenham Hotspur and even trained with the "Spurs", as they are known to their supporters, during his teenage years in London. Soccer continues to be an important part of Nash's life. In fact, when Dirk Nowitzki arrived in the NBA from Germany, he and Nash became close friends, in part because they enjoyed watching soccer together.

Nash grew up in Victoria, British Columbia and played high school basketball for St. Michaels University School along with his younger brother Martin. In his senior season, he averaged nearly a triple-double per game—more than 21 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds—led his team to the BC AAA provincial championship title, and was named the province's player of the year. However, because of the limited attention afforded the Canadian high school basketball circuit, Nash went completely unrecruited by the US NCAA schools. His coach, Ian Hyde-Lay, sent letters of inquiry and highlight reels on Nash's behalf to over 30 American universities to no avail (Canada is not especially known for basketball).

However, acting on a tip, Santa Clara University head coach Dick Davey was intrigued enough to twice request video footage of the young guard before finally making the trip up from Northern California to visit the recruit in person. After watching Nash dominate a game, Davey recalled later, "I was nervous as hell just hoping that no one else would see him. It didn't take a Nobel Prize winner to figure out this guy's pretty good. It was just a case of hoping that none of the big names came around." [3] Nash was awarded a scholarship by Santa Clara for the 1992-93 season.

College

During his freshman year at Santa Clara, Nash led the Broncos to a berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament after they captured the West Coast Conference (WCC) tournament championship. Nash was the first freshman ever named MVP of the WCC tournament. In the first round of the NCAA tournament that year, he lead the 15th-seeded Broncos to a 64-61 upset victory over the 2nd-seeded University of Arizona Wildcats. They were only the second #15 seed to defeat a #2 seed, and Nash hit six straight free throws in the final 31 seconds to secure the victory.

Although Nash again performed impressively in his sophomore year, the Broncos failed to realize expectations and did not make the NCAA tournament. However, they returned to glory the following year (1994-1995), largely on the strength of Nash's play. That year, Nash led the conference in points, assists, and three-point percentage. He was the first to lead the WCC in both points and assists in the same season since the legendary John Stockton, to whom many were beginning to compare him. However, Nash and his teammates lost to Mississippi State in the opening round. Nash briefly considered early entrance into the NBA Draft after his junior season, but decided not to on learning he wouldn't be drafted above the 2nd round.

Nash continued to improve the following year, leading his mid-major team to victories against such basketball juggernauts as UCLA and Michigan State in the opening months of his senior season. He again claimed the conference Player of the Year honors, becoming the first Bronco to do so twice since Lakers star Kurt Rambis, and was named Honorable Mention All-America. Despite a loss in the conference tournament, the Broncos were given an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament—rare for a mid-major team—on the strength of their regular-season performance. Nash and the #10 Broncs proved they belonged by upsetting the #7 Maryland Terrapins, another of the NCAA teams that had passed him over. Nash had a new challenge on the horizon, however: a career in the National Basketball Association.

NBA career

First stint in Phoenix

Nash was selected 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA Draft in 1996. No Canadian had ever been drafted so high. This accomplishment meant little to Suns fans, however, and they vigorously booed the team's selection.[4] Despite his impressive college accomplishments, he was a relative unknown because he hadn't played in one of the major college conferences. Nevertheless, he took his place behind NBA stars Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson in his first two seasons in the NBA. In his rookie year in 1996-97, Nash averaged just 3.3 points and 2.1 assists in very limited playing time. With persistence, however, his minutes grew and the next year he averaged 9.1 points and 3.4 assists, playing more than twice the minutes he did in his rookie year. However, it would be the last time Steve Nash would compete in a Suns uniform for six years.

Dallas

Nash had met and befriended Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson when he was at Santa Clara and Nelson worked for the nearby Golden State Warriors. Following his spell in the Bay Area, Nelson took a job with the Suns, and it was he who convinced the team to select Nash with the 15th pick. After moving to Dallas, Nelson was able to convince his father, Don Nelson, who was then the Mavericks coach and GM, to acquire Nash. On Draft Day, June 25, 1998, Nash was traded from the Suns to the Mavericks in exchange for Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, the draft rights to Pat Garrity, and a first-round draft pick which was later used to select Shawn Marion.

Nash's first year in Dallas, the lockout-shortened season of 1999, all but erased the gains he had made in the previous season. Missing 10 games due to an injury to his lower back, Nash averaged 7.9 points and 5.5 assists, though he did play nearly 10 minutes more per game than he had the previous season. His relationship with the Dallas fans was frosty, however, and they booed the newcomer throughout the season in disapproval of the trade their team had made.[5]

In the 1999-2000 season, the team's prospects improved considerably. While Nash missed 25 games due to an ankle injury, he did come back to notch six double-doubles in the last month of play, finishing with 8.6 PPG and 4.9 APG. More importantly for the team, second-year teammate and friend Dirk Nowitzki was blossoming into a superstar, veteran Michael Finley was putting up All-Star numbers, and new billionaire owner Mark Cuban was bringing new energy and excitement to the franchise. Nash finally had a supportive environment on which he could build.

In 2000-01, Nash averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 assists per game in a breakout season, garnering Comeback Player of the Year honors from Basketball Digest.[6] With Nash directing the offense, Nowitzki and Finley playing at their best, and new acquisition, All-Star Juwan Howard, complementing the high-scoring trio, the Mavericks earned a playoff berth for the first time in more than a decade. Dallas lost in the second round, but it was only the beginning of a memorable run for Nash and the Mavericks.

In the 2001-02 campaign, Nash posted career-highs of 17.9 PPG and 7.7 APG and earned a spot in the NBA All-Star Game and on the All-NBA Third Team. He was now an all-star, increasingly appearing in television commercials and, with Finley and Nowitzki, part of the Dallas Mavericks "Big Three." The trio even made a memorable cameo appearance together in the summer 2002 basketball flick Like Mike, starring Lil Bow Wow. Dallas again made the playoffs and again lost in the second round, but signs were encouraging.

Confuting his critics who dismissed his remarkable 2001-02 campaign as a fluke, Nash reprised his previous season's performance in 2002-03, averaging 17.7 PPG and 7.3 APG, again earning All-Star and All-NBA Third Team honors. Nowitzki and Nash led the Mavs from an incredible 14-game winning streak to open the season all the way to the Western Conference Finals for only the second time in franchise history, where they lost to the eventual NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs.

This would be as far as Nash and his "Big Three" cohorts would ever get. The 2003-04 season saw a drop-off in points for Nash (down to 14.5) and he was left off the All-Star and All-NBA rosters. Despite this, however, his field-goal percentage was up from the past season, to 47.0% from 46.5%, and his assists average (8.8) and free throw percentage (91.6%) were new career highs. Nevertheless, Dallas did not make it past the first round of the playoffs, their worst finish since they were left out altogether in 1999-2000.

With his contract expired, Nash tried to negotiate a long-term contract with Cuban, but failed. Cuban did not want to lose Nash, but wanted to build his franchise around the younger Nowitzki and didn't want to risk signing the aging Nash to a long-term deal. Instead he offered a 4 year deal worth about $9 million per year, with a 5th year partially guaranteed. Cuban wrote in his own blog that this is what he considered fair and if Nash could get a better offer from another team he should take it and Cuban would be happy for him. Nash continued looking for a better deal and found one in Phoenix, where he still had a home and ties to the local community. Unfazed by Nash's age, the Suns quickly offered him a six-year, $63 million contract. Nash was reluctant to leave Dallas and went back to Cuban to see if he would match the deal. Nash's agent gave Cuban a very limited window of opportunity to match the deal and when Cuban hesitated, Nash signed a long-term contract with Phoenix for the 2004-05 season.

Second stint in Phoenix

File:SINash2005.jpg
Nash led the Suns past the Mavs in the 2005 playoffs

The Phoenix Suns had two young superstars in forward Shawn Marion and forward-center Amare Stoudemire, the 2002-03 Rookie of the Year. Despite their young and talented roster, however, the Suns posted a 29-53 win-loss record in 2003-04. Aside from the additions of Nash and swingman Quentin Richardson, the line-up was essentially unchanged from the previous season, and most pundits projected them to finish towards the bottom of the Western Conference.

Head coach Mike D'Antoni, who had taken over midway through the previous season, decided to employ the "run and gun" style of basketball that was in vogue in the 1980's. Fielding a small, quick line-up, D'Antoni gave the ball to Nash and let him orchestrate a fastbreak offense. Nash and his teammates would consistently outrun their opponents to their end of the floor and every player had a green light to shoot at all times. The result was the highest-scoring NBA team in a decade, averaging 110.4 points per game during the regular season. Nash's precision passes and alley oops to Stoudemire, Marion, Richardson, and Joe Johnson provided many SportsCenter highlight reels. The Suns were described as "the team that makes basketball fun again" in contrast to defensive-oriented teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons.

The Suns were winning at a remarkable pace, with a 31-5 record before Nash went down with an injury in the first half of their next game. The Suns struggled without their leader, losing that game, going 0-3 without him in their next three, and losing his first game back from the injury. After that, however Nash settled in and the team won five straight and eight of their next nine. The Suns finished their season with an NBA-best 62-20 record, a 33-game improvement from the previous season.

As the Suns' starting point guard and a veteran among youngsters, Nash was the discernible leader of the team's dramatic turnaround. While he averaged a modest 15.5 points per game, his field-goal shooting percentage was remarkable: 50.2%, a career high, and a rare figure for a guard. Equally impressive was his assist total of 11.5 assists per game, a career best and the best in the NBA; no one else had more than 9. The last player to average more was John Stockton with 12.3 APG in 1995. Nash's numbers affirmed his status as an unselfish, "pass first" player. Nash also ranked sixth in the league in both three-point percentage (43.1%) and free throw percentage (88.7%). Nash also ranked third in the NBA in double-double totals — a statistic traditionally dominated by big men with high rebounding numbers — behind only Kevin Garnett and teammate Shawn Marion. Nash was the only player to average double figures in both points and assists. Nash also earned his second career triple double on March 30th, recording 12 points, 12 assists, and a career-high 13 rebounds in just 27 minutes. Perhaps Nash's greatest contribution to the team was that he made his teammates better. Many of them were posting the best seasons of their careers across the board, and both they and outside observers attributed this to Nash.

In the playoffs, Phoenix swept the Memphis Grizzlies in four games, before meeting Nash's former club, the Dallas Mavericks, in the second round. In leading the Suns to a 4-2 series win, Nash played some of the best basketball of his career, averaging 30.3 points, 12 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per game, recording his first playoff triple double, and scoring a 2005 single-game playoff high of 48 points. In the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1993, the Suns finally met their match in Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs, losing in 5 games despite a solid series from Nash, who averaged 23.2 points and 10.6 assists per game. Despite the loss, Nash and the Suns were still pleased with how far they had progressed and optimistic about how far they could go in the future.

Most Valuable Player 2005

In 2005, Nash became one of the most distinctive players ever to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). He is the first Canadian and the second foreign-born player (after Hakeem Olajuwon) to earn the honor. Along with Allen Iverson, he is one of only two players under 6'6" to win the award in the last four decades. He is the first MVP who did not lead his team in scoring since Dave Cowens in 1972-73. (Coincidentally, the 2004-05 runner-up, Shaquille O'Neal, did not lead his team in scoring either). He had the third-lowest all-time scoring average for an MVP, ahead of only Wes Unseld (13.8 in 1969) and Bill Russell (14.1 in 1965). Nash is just the fourth point guard ever to be named MVP — along with legends Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, and Bob Cousy — and only the sixth guard (Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan, being the others). He is also the first white player to win the award since Larry Bird in 1985-86. Some critics questioned whether Nash deserved the MVP, due to the fact that he had so much talent around him. [7]

2005-2006 season

Although the Suns had a great season in 2005, they weren't able to keep their roster intact during the offseason. The Suns signed free agents Brian Grant, Eddie House, and Raja Bell. The two biggest losses were Joe Johnson, who was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, and Quentin Richardson who was traded to the New York Knicks. The players that the Suns received in return were Kurt Thomas from the Knicks, and the more obscure Boris Diaw from the Hawks. This was made worse by an injury to Amare Stoudemire, which sidelined him for all but three games of the 2006 season. With a new starting lineup consisting of mainly unproven players and no true center, the Suns were not expected to repeat their magical 2005 season. However, due to Nash's leadership and the great play of teammates like Marion and Diaw, the Suns remain one of the elite teams in the NBA. Despite the injury to Stoudemire, the Suns was the highest scoring team in the league, scoring over 100 points per game and seven Suns average in double figures. Nash was voted as a first time starter for the 2006 Western All-Star team (he was a reserve in his previous appearances).

As the regular season came to a close, it was clear Nash could possibly repeat as MVP. Nash had career highs in scoring (18.8 points), rebounding (4.2), field goal percentage (.512) and free throw percentage (a league-leading .921). Although he shot the ball more, he was still the league's leader with assists (10.5 per game). He also became the fourth player in NBA history to shoot better than 50% from the field, 40% from three-point range, and 90% from the line, joining Larry Bird, Reggie Miller and Mark Price. He led the league in assists at 10.5 per game and finished sixth in three-point percentage at 43.9.

He, along with Shawn Marion, led the Suns to another Pacific Division title and 54 wins despite the absence of Stoudemire and numerous other personnel changes.

Most Valuable Player 2006: Nash wins again

In late April the Arizona Republic Newspaper reported that Nash had won the NBA MVP award for the second consectutive year. The MVP award was given to Steve Nash on the 7th of May, 2006 in a press conference held by the Phoenix Suns. This was only a day after the Phoenix Suns (playing against the Lakers) became the eighth team in NBA history to come back and win from down 3-1 in a best-of-seven playoff series. Nash received 236 ballot points more than second-placed Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, who had 688 points. Nash also finished with the most first-place votes (57), 35 ahead of Kobe Bryant, who finished second with 22.

Nash's winning of the award after having also won it in 2005 made him only the second point guard, along with Magic Johnson, to win the award multiple times. With this repeat, Nash joined a prestigious group of eight other NBA players to earn back-to-back MVP awards (Johnson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan). He is the first player in this group without a championship ring, and only the second to average under 20 points per game in both MVP seasons (Bill Russell is the first). Nash is the 11th player in NBA history to win mutiple MVPs (Bob Pettit and Karl Malone did not win back- to-back MVPs). He is also the only player with multiple MVPs to average less than 15 points and 1 steal or block per game in his NBA career (since the NBA started tallying blocks and steals).

International career

Steve Nash captained Canada's Mens Basketball team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He had been offered a place on the Great Britain basketball team, but he turned it down to play for Canada. At one point, with a successful round-robin record and a berth in the quarter-finals of the tournament, commentators regarded Canada as a contender for a medal. This was followed by a tough loss in the quarters to France, by 5 points. However, Canada won their final game of the tournament, a placement game against Russia, which enabled Canada to finish 7th overall. Nash expressed disappointment in the result, saying "It hurts a lot. I feel like I let everybody down." Nevertheless, he did see a possible silver lining, saying "Hopefully kids will be inspired to play (in Canada) -- that's what I really hope." [8]

Nash again led Team Canada during qualifying for the 2004 Summer Olympics. Canada would qualify for Athens 2004 if they finished in the top three. Unfortunately, Canada lost the semi-final to the United States, and then the third place match to the home team Puerto Rico. Nash was named tournament MVP, but he admitted that he was disappointed since Canada didn't qualify for the Olympics.

Strengths and weaknesses

Nash is seen as one of the premier point guards in the NBA. He is one of the most creative and intelligent players, averaging double digits in assists while maintaining a relatively low turnover rate. He is a natural floor leader (demonstrated by the fact that his addition was partially responsible for turning the mediocre Phoenix Suns into a contender) and along with Jason Kidd, is the best fastbreak passer in the NBA. Because of his basketball intelligence, Nash is very effective playing the pick and roll with former Dallas teammate Dirk Nowitzki and later with Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. His ballhandling is superb as seen in the 2005 NBA All-Star Skills Contest, which he won. In addition, he is an excellent shooter as he shoots more then 50% from the field, which is a rare occurrence among guards, he is also a top 10 three-point shooter and is the third best free throw shooter in NBA history.

Many critics point to Nash's defense as his primary weakness. His man-to-man defense is extremely suspect, and he can find it difficult to stay with his man and perform help defense. In the 2005-2006 season, Nash averaged 0.8 steals per game — below the league average for guards. Critics characterize his play as one-dimensional, arguing that while his offensive play is stellar, his weak defensive skills lower his overall performance. On one occasion, Nash surrendered career-high 30 points to Seattle SuperSonics point guard Luke Ridnour (career average less than 10 points per game), in a double-overtime game in the 2005-2006 season. Therefore, in terms of all-around play, these critics rate Nash below other elite point guards like Jason Kidd and, formerly, Gary Payton. Critics argue that Nash is the only player to win the MVP award twice while being so weak defensively (Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Player: Nash wins again). This point is validated by the fact that Nash has yet to receive 1 vote (out of a possible 29 each season from opposing NBA head coaches) for All-NBA Defensive teams (first or second) in the last two seasons. [9] [10].

Nash's current place among NBA point guards is further called into question by the fact that in one on one matchups against other leading players at his position such as Kidd and Chauncey Billups, he has found the going tough and has greatly suffered on the court. A notable instance is Kidd holding Nash to zero points in a matchup during the 2005-06 campaign. Critics also question whether Nash has the ability to take a game into his own hands in terms of dominating as a scorer, when need be. However, overall, Nash is still widely regarded as one of the best point guards in the NBA.

Nash's play makes him one of the most challenging point guards to play against. His playing style is unorthodox compared to other modern point guards and he is sometimes referred to as one of the "dying-breed" of pure point men. His old-fashioned mentality of "pass-first-shoot-second" is displayed rarely in the modern NBA. His style is frequently compared to the likes of Jason Kidd, John Stockton, and even Bob Cousy.

Off the court

Nash set up the Steve Nash Foundation in order to help underprivileged kids in all aspects of their lives. In one story recollected by his father, Nash was told to cut down on his philanthropy since he had already given a half-million dollars to charity. Nash replied that "there was so much more he could do". [11] After he won the MVP award, numerous companies approached him to be the spokesperson for their products and appear in advertisements, but denied all requests and instead went on humanitarian trip to Central America. Nash also makes time meeting sick children in hospitals.

Another aspect of his life that has caused Nash to stand out from many of his contemporaries is his keen interest in art, politics, and the world around him. For one, he is a discerning reader, tackling the works of such authors as Immanuel Kant and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Nash also has a passion for travel, saying that "Whenever I travel, I feel almost calm. I love people. I love the world." [12]

Nash's interest in politics led to controversy during the lead-up to the Iraq War when he chose to wear a custom-made t-shirt that stated "No war -- Shoot for peace" to the 2003 NBA All-Star Game. Nash explained his position by saying that the United States had provided insufficient evidence that Iraq was a threat and that the UN inspectors should be allowed to complete their mission. [13] Although Nash did get positive support from teammate Nick Van Exel among others, he also drew criticism from David Robinson, a former Naval officer and fellow NBA player. Some journalists like Skip Bayless also criticized Nash as being uninformed and advised him to "just shut up and play". [14]

On October 14, 2004, Nash and longtime girlfriend Alejandra Amarilla became the parents of twin girls, Lola and Bella, who were born in Phoenix. They married in June 2005.

In May of 2006, Nash was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In the accompanying write-up by Charles Barkley, Nash was lauded for his unselfishness on the court, and being "just a nice guy" who had paid for a new pediatric cardiology ward in a Paraguayan hospital. [15]

Nash is the subject of a book by Jeff Rud, Long Shot: Steve Nash's Journey to the NBA.

Nash suffers from a medical condition called spondylolisthesis, a forward movement of one of the vertebrae in the spine in relation to the one below it, causing muscle tightness and back pain. Nash does not let his condition mar his performance on the hardwood. He tries to keep moving when on the court and lies supine on the endline when not in the game in order to keep from stiffening. [16]

Career summary

  • 2-time NBA MVP: 2005, 2006
  • 4-time NBA All-Star: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006
  • 3-time All-NBA:
  • First Team: 2005
  • Third Team: 2002, 2003
  • 2-time NBA regular-season leader, assists per game: 2005 (11.5), 2006 (10.5)
  • 2-time NBA regular-season leader, assists: 2005 (861), 2006 (826)
  • NBA regular-season leader, free throw percentage: 2006 (.921)
  • GQ Best Dressed List (2005)
  • Career stats: 13.5 ppg, 2.8 rbg, 7.1 apg, 0.1 bpg, 0.8 spg, .477 FG%, .421 3FG%, .896 FT%

Career transactions

References

Preceded by NBA Most Valuable Player
2004-05, 2005-06 		Succeeded by
TBA
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