Steve Nash

Template:Infobox Pro athlete Stephen John Nash (born February 7, 1974 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a Canadian All-Star National Basketball Association player. Many refer to Nash as "The little MVP" or "Stevery Nash". Other nicknames for Nash include "Hair Nash" (given by Vince Carter), "Kid Canada", "Nashty Nash", and "Captain Canada".

Standing at 6 feet, 3 inches tall, Nash is the starting point guard for the Phoenix Suns. In just two seasons, the reigning two-time MVP has gone from being an occasional all-star to a future hall of famer.

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." [1]

Nash comes from an athletic family. His father John Nash was a minor league 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. In addition to soccer, Nash excelled at hockey and lacrosse as a child.

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." [2] Nash was awarded a scholarship by Santa Clara for the 1992-93 season.

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.[3] 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.

Second stint in Phoenix- Nash's career transformed

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 posted a 31-5 record before Nash went down with an injury in the first half of their next game. The Suns lost their next three games without their leader. After Nash returned, however, the team won four of five, and eight of their next nine. The Suns finished the 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 lost to the eventual NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs in 5 games. In the series, Nash 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 slightly edged Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat to win the NBA MVP award. [4] Nash became one of the most distinctive players ever to win the award, as the first Canadian and the third foreign-born player (after Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan) 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 2005 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 fifth point guard ever to be named MVP — along with Allen Iverson, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, and Bob Cousy — and only the sixth guard (Michael Jordan being the other). He is also the first white player to win the award since Larry Bird in 1985-86. Some critics questioned whether Nash deserved to win, due to the fact that he had so much talent around him. [5]

2005-2006 season

With a new starting lineup consisting of mainly unproven players and no true center, the Suns were not expected to repeat their successful 2005 season. However, due to Nash's leadership and the great play of teammates like Marion and Diaw (who was voted as the Most Improved Player of the year), the Suns remain one of the elite teams in the NBA. Despite the loss of several key players and an injury to Amare Stoudemire who was sidelined for all but three games of the 2006 season, the Suns were the highest scoring team in the league, scoring over 100 points per game. Seven Suns ended up averaging in double figures in points per game. Nash was voted as a first time starter for the 2006 Western All-Star team.

As the regular season came to a close, it was clear that Nash was MVP worthy according to the media. 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 than the previous year, 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 (43.9), and 90% from the line, joining Larry Bird, Reggie Miller and Mark Price (although Miller and Price never won the award). Along with Shawn Marion, Nash led the Suns to another Pacific Division title and 54 wins.

Most Valuable Player 2006: Nash wins again

Following a leak in late April that appeared in the Arizona Republic newspaper, the MVP award to Steve Nash for the second year in a row was officially announced on May 7, 2006. [6]. He received more votes than LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons. 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 James, who had 688 points. Nash also finished with the most first-place votes (57), 35 ahead of Bryant, who had 22.

Nash is only the second point guard, along with Magic Johnson, to win the award multiple times. With this repeat, Nash joined eight other NBA players to earn back-to-back MVP awards (Magic 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 let alone play in the NBA Finals, 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 the MVP award multiple times. He is also the first player on this list to average less than 15 points in his career.

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 [in Canada] will be inspired to play -- that's what I really hope." [7]

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 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 and shoots more then 50% from the field, which is a rare occurrence among guards. His high shooting percentage is due in large part to his great shot selection and his great basketball IQ as he rarely takes contested shots. His old-fashioned mentality of "pass-first-shoot-second" is rarely displayed in the modern NBA. He is also a great three-point shooter and is the third best free throw shooter in NBA history. On May 11, 2006, ESPN.com rated Nash as the 9th greatest point guard of all time[8]

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. Several games in the 2005-2006 season stand out in this regard. 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 loss. In another instance against the Chicago Bulls, Nash gave up a career high 39 points to Ben Gordon (who was the point guard that game). In another loss against the Memphis Grizzlies, Nash gave up a season high 26 points to Damon Stoudamire. In another instance, Nash gave up a season high 26 points to J.R. Smith (who was matched up against Nash though he is a shooting guard). These instances (all in one season), combined with his defensive statistics and lack of defensive awards or praise, indicate that Nash is a defensive liability. 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 weak defensively to win the MVP award twice (Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Player: Nash wins again). This point is further validated by the fact that he did not receive any votes out of a possible 58 (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. In the 2 meetings between Nash and Billups in the 2005-06 Season, Nash gave up 27 points to Billups at home and 35 in Detroit (this was Billups’ second highest scoring output in the season). In contrast, Nash scored only 18 and 13 in these losses. In the 2005-06 season alone, there were 7 games (out of 79 that he played in), in which Nash finished with less than 10 points. In yet another game against the Sonics, Nash scored just 5 points versus Ridnour. In a game against the Sacramento Kings, Nash scored 7 points against Mike Bibby. In a game against the Utah Jazz, Nash scored only 6 points while giving up 21 to Deron Williams (In Williams’ third game of his career). In a game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Nash managed to only put up 9 points against reserve point guard Shaun Livingston. In a game against the Mavericks, Nash put up 6 points while giving up 18 to Jason Terry. In another game against the Boston Celtics, Nash scored 9 points. Perhaps the most notable instance is a game against the New Jersey Nets, in which Kidd held Nash to zero points, even though Nash played over 26 minutes that game. Although it is true the point guard’s main job isn't scoring, it is also true that an MVP candidate needs to assert himself and score when need be. In these 7 games, the Suns went just 4-3, even though 5 of the games played were at home. 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 currently, but when looking at his whole career, he has only come to be known as one of the NBA's best in the last two seasons.

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. Nash's 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 other NBA players 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
• TSN NBA Co-MVP: 2006 (LeBron James is the other player to earn the award)
• 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

• Drafted by Phoenix Suns in 1st round of the 1996 NBA Draft (15th overall) on 26 June
• Signed by Suns to three-year, $3.2 million contract on 24 July 1996
• Traded by Suns to Dallas Mavericks for Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, draft rights to Pat Garrity and 1999 1st-round pick (#9 - Shawn Marion) on 24 June 1998
• Contract with Mavericks expired, became free agent on 1 July 2004
• Signed by Suns to six-year, $66 million contract on 14 July 2004

References

• 2000 Olympic Games - bios Canoe.ca
• Steve Nash playerfile NBA.com

External links

• NBA.com profile
• Basketball-Reference.com player page
• Steve Nash's MVP season review and brief biography
• Suns.com with an article on Nash in his rookie season
• Nash's professional and college stats
• 'Young Nash a Gem Waiting to Be Mined' - About Santa Clara's Coach Discovering Nash
• Steve Nash biography from SteveNashMVP.com
• FrozenHoops.com History of NBA basketball in Canada. Selection of Top 100 Canadian players of all time