Steve Nash
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{{Infobox Pro athlete
|name = Steve Nash
|image = SteveNashPass.jpg
|league = NBA
|height = 6'3" (1.91 m)
|weight = 195 lb (88 kg)
|position = Point guard
|birth_date = February 7, 1974
|birth_place = Johannesburg, South Africa
|death_date =
|death_place =
|team = Phoenix Suns
|college = Santa Clara
|nationality = Canadian
|draft = 15th overall
|draft_team = Phoenix Suns
|draft_year = 1996
|career_start = 1996
|career_end = present
|awards = 2005 NBA MVP
Three-time All-Star
}}
Stephen John Nash (born February 7, 1974 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a star Canadian basketball 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. He is a favorite (along with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James) to win the award in 2006.
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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." [1]
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 would always watch 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 behalf of Nash to over 30 American universities, but all either summarily sent refusals or didn't bother to respond at all.
But 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, the only school that recruited him, before the 1992-93 season. He would go on to become one of the greatest players in the history of the West Coast Conference.
College
During his freshman year at Santa Clara University, Nash led the Broncos to an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament after they captured the West Coast Conference tournament championship. Nash was the first freshman ever named MVP of the WCC tourney. In the first round of the NCAA tournament that year, he orchestrated one of the most improbable upsets in the history of college basketball, leading the 15th-seeded Broncos to a 64-61 victory over the 2nd-seeded prohibitive favorites, the Arizona Wildcats. They were the second ever #15 seed to defeat a #2 seed, and Nash hit six straight free throws over the final 31 seconds to secure the victory.
Although Nash again performed impressively in his sophomore campaign, the Broncs failed to realize expectations and finished far beyond an NCAA bid. However, the Broncos would return to glory the next year, largely on the shoulders of Nash's tremendous play. Nash led the conference in points, assists, and three-point percentage. He was the first player to lead the WCC in both points and assists in the same season since the legendary John Stockton, a player to whom many were beginning to compare Nash. The comparisons continue to this day. Unfortunately, Nash and his teammates couldn't muster a victory against Mississippi State in the opening round. Nash briefly considered early entrance into the NBA Draft after his junior season, but decided against it after learning he wouldn't be drafted above the 2nd round. He would have to improve his stock the next year.
Nash did just that, and more, 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 erstwhile 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 daunting regular-season performance. Nash and the #10 Broncs proved they belonged by upsetting the #7 Maryland Terrapins, the last of many NCAA teams that he would make regret passing him over. But Nash had a new challenge on the horizon, a challenge that just a few years prior few thought he ever had a hope of attaining: a career in the National Basketball Association.
NBA career
First stint in Phoenix
Nash was selected by the Phoenix Suns 15th overall in the first round of the NBA Draft in 1996. No Canadian had ever been drafted so high. But this accomplishment meant little to Suns fans, who vigorously booed the team's selection. [3] Despite his impressive college accomplishments, he was a relative unknown because he didn't play in one of the major college conferences. Little did it matter, however, as he sat 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. But 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 back when he starred at Santa Clara and Donnie 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 fought so hard for the previous season. Missing 10 games due to an injury to his lower back, Nash averaged a paltry 7.9 points and 5.5 assists, but he did average nearly 10 minutes more per game than he did the previous season. His relationship with the Dallas fans was frosty, however, and they booed the newcomer throughout the season and lambasted the trade their team had made. [4]
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 quickly blossoming into a superstar, veteran Michael Finley was putting up All-Star numbers, and new owner Mark Cuban was bringing new energy and excitement to the franchise. Nash finally had the teammates, management, and overall surroundings necessary to forge a successful career in the NBA.
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.[5] 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 improved on his numbers to post career-highs of 17.9 PPG and 7.7 APG and earn a spot in the NBA All-Star Game and on the All-NBA Third Team. He was now a genuine superstar, increasingly appearing in television commercials and, along with Finley and Nowitzki, constituted the formidable 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 prior season's performance almost identically in 2002-03, averaging 17.7 PPG and 7.3 APG, again earning All-Star and All-NBA Third Team honors. Directing the Dallas offense, 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 champs, 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. Ironically, 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 then-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 Steve 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 felt was fair and if Nash could get an outstanding offer from another team then he should do that and Cuban would be happy for him. As a result, Nash looked elsewhere for potential suitors 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, but after much reluctant thought, Cuban told Nash he would not and wished him well. After consulting with Nowitzki and Finley, Nash signed a long-term contract with Phoenix and donned a Suns uniform for the first time in six seasons for the 2004-05 season.
Second stint in Phoenix
Image:SINash2005.jpg 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 were fodder for many SportsCenter highlight reels, and the Phoenix Suns were roundly described as "the team that makes basketball fun again" in contrast to defensive-oriented teams such as the San Antonio Spurs.
Perhaps more importantly, the Suns were winning at a remarkable pace, jumping out to 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 the season with an NBA-best 62-20 record, a 33-game improvement from their 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 APG, a career best and the best in the NBA; no one else had more than 9. Indeed, 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 6th in the league in both three-point percentage (43.1%) and free-throw percentage (88.7%). Nash also ranked #3 in the NBA in double-doubles, a statistic traditionally dominated by big men with high rebound totals, 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 squarely 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.
MVP 2005: Nash as a remarkable anomaly
In 2005, Nash became one of the most distinctive players ever to win the NBA MVP award. He is the first Canadian and the second foreign-born player (after Hakeem Olajuwon) to earn the honor (San Antonio's Tim Duncan was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, an insular area of the United States). Along with Allen Iverson, he is one of only two players under 6'6" to garner the accolade 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 -- alongside legends Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, and Bob Cousy -- and only the sixth guard (Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan). He is also the first white player to win the award since Larry Bird in 1985-86.
2006
Although the Suns had a great season in 2005, they weren't able to keep their roster intact during the offseason. 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. The Suns did not sign any significant free agents. This was made worse by an injury to Amare Stoudemire, which sidelined him for much of the 2006 season. With a new starting lineup consisting of mainly unproven players and no true center, the Suns were not even expected to be a playoff team, let alone 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 have scored over 100 points per game and seven Suns average in double figures. Thanks to Nash's play, he was voted as a first time starter for the 2006 Western All Star team (he was a reserve in his previous appearances). So far this season, Nash has posted a career high 19 points a game and even though he has shot the ball more, he is still the league leader in assists. Nash has been mentioned to be the league's MVP again should this continue. Among those who have named Nash as the frontrunner include current players like Allen Iverson and former players like Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson. [6]
International career
Steve Nash first attracted widespread notice in Canada when he 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 Romania, 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." [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 arguably along with Kidd 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 best free throw shooter in NBA history. Nash has also developed into a clutch player, often taking and making the last shot for his team.
Many critics point to his defense as his big weakness. His man-to-man defense is extremely suspect, and he can find it difficult to stay with his man and perform help defense. Critics point out that Nash's play is somewhat one-dimensional, and while his offensive play is stellar, his weak defensive skills lower his overall performance. Therefore, in terms of all-around play, these critics rate Nash below other elite point guards like Jason Kidd and, formerly, Gary Payton. His 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 Billups, he has found the going tough and has greatly suffered on the court. A notable instance is Kidd holding him to 0 points in a matchup during the 05-06 campaign. However, overall, Nash is still 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 constantly 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". [8] 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." [9]
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. [10] 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". [11]
On October 14, 2004, Nash and longtime girlfriend Alejandra Amarilla became the parents of twin girls, Lola and Bella, who were born in a Phoenix hospital. They married in June 2005.
Nash is the subject of a book by Jeff Rudd, 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. [12]
Career summary
As of the end of the 2004-05 season:
- First Team: 2005
- Third Team: 2002, 2003
- NBA regular-season leader, assists per game: 2005 (11.5)
- NBA regular-season leader, total assists: 2005 (861)
- GQ Best Dressed List (2005)
Career transactions
- Drafted by Phoenix Suns in 1st round of 1996 NBA Draft (15th overall) on 26 June 1996
- 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
| Preceded by: Kevin Garnett | 2004-05 NBA Most Valuable Player Award | Succeeded by: Incumbent |
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