Steve Nash blog

Steve Nash trade rumors

2010-11-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

There are new rumblings out of Phoenix if the Suns falter, Steve Nash will on the trading block.
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and Amar'e Stoudemire would give their left lung to reunite with the veteran playmaker. Nash lives in SoHo in the summer and has given vibes about being intrigued about ending his career as a Knick.
Steve Kerr, the former Suns president who worked last night's Knicks-Bulls game for TNT, said he feels the Knicks wouldn't have the pieces to land Nash. For that matter, he feels they couldn't land Carmelo Anthony, either.

"In that situation where you want to start over, maybe rebuild, you got to get draft picks and the Knicks don't have any. They gave them to Houston," Kerr told The Post before the Knicks' 120-112 victory. "I don't see what you put together on that roster that makes sense for Phoenix. Or Denver."
Kerr, who quit in June to go back to TV, said he can foresee Phoenix moving forward with a Nash trade if it believes it can't win now.
"Nobody's untradeable," Kerr said. "I know a year ago no way we would've considered that. But if a team struggles and looks like it won't be a playoff team, they have to consider all their options. But you can't just do it for the sake of doing it. You have to hit a home run. The reality is I don't see any deal put together for those two teams."
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Stoudemire said he would love play on the 2012 Olympic team and feels the Knicks will grant him permission.
The Knicks forbid him to play in the World Championships this summer because of insurance issues and concern over his surgically repaired left knee.
"You want to make sure you stay healthy and be ready for the regular season," Stoudemire said. "But I think three years of staying in shape, I think it will all work out."

Steve Nash keeps busy off court with movies, charity, business

2010-10-01T03:54:00.000-07:00

Steve Nash is restless, like a shark that swims to breathe.

He moves through life like he moves down the basketball court: darting forward, searching for opportunities, seizing the moment.

The Suns guard begins his 15th NBA season Monday, when the team leaves for training camp. He is 36, has two years left on his contract and hopes to keep playing beyond that.

But on the court or not, Nash's dribble will never fade - his restless energy drives him forward, looking for openings. He already has begun a second career. And a third. And a fourth. The traits that help him excel in basketball - creative vision, determination and selflessness - will drive his post-NBA life, too, with his ventures into filmmaking, free enterprise and philanthropy.

His fledgling video-production company on Tuesday will debut a documentary on ESPN about Terry Fox, a man with an amputated leg who tried to run across Canada. Nash's charitable foundation continues to donate millions of dollars to assist underserved children. Not content with 16 fitness clubs in Canada, a digital-marketing firm, a vitamin company, a sports skin-care line and a stake in Vancouver's Major League Soccer expansion team, Nash has launched a marketing consultancy, relying on his experience two years ago as an unpaid intern.

"It's very valuable to be doing this while I have the visibility of my career," Nash said. "I'm at a stage of my life where I want to learn, grow and try different things. I get more life out of this than playing golf or other things athletes do in their spare time. This can stress me out, but it's also invigorating.

"I can't sit still. It'd be wonderful if I could. It sounds relaxing and a fun way to spend retirement, but it wouldn't work for me."

Creative vision

Nash plays basketball like a creative artist, with the vision to see the big picture. That trait works for filmmaking, a burgeoning passion that puts him on a national stage this week just two years after starting a film company.

Meathawk, "a two-man band" with his English cousin Ezra Holland, has gone from producing commercials and team videos to the Terry Fox documentary, "Into the Wind," which airs at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Nash and Holland produced and directed the film about Fox, Nash's childhood idol who was fighting cancer in 1980 when he set out to make his famous run.

Nash's filmmaking foray began with his wife, Alejandra, sharing what her father, a film buff, taught her about movies. A seed sprouted and kept branching out to the point that Nash wrote, pitched and produced "Training Day," a 2008 viral Nike commercial of him playing soccer in New York.

Meathawk followed, teaming Nash's creativity and social and professional network with Holland's music-video and commercial-producing career. They created viral videos starring Nash and other Suns for laughs and made commercials for his endorsements. They turned serious with two years of work on the Fox documentary and early work on a Pele documentary at the request of Oscar-winning director Bill Guttentag. Their aim is to make feature films.

"At some point, you cross the line from being a spectator to participant," Nash said. "It just sort of happened as innocently as that and keeps moving."

"Filmmaking is a very experiential art form that is accessible if you're willing," Nash said. "To become a painter or sculptor, I wouldn't know where to start. By watching filmmaking, I felt for whatever reason I could do that. That need to be creative and get things off your chest to express things is fulfilling, much the way basketball does."

Nash and Holland saw their early work as training for serious ventures, such as when Nash pitched "Into the Wind" to ESPN.

"He has very good ideas," Holland said after a recent EA Sports video game commercial shoot with Nash. "Like anything he gets interested in, he researches thoroughly. . . . He works hard to establish himself and uses his celebrity and credibility to open doors, which is very shrewd."

Nash and Holland shot 90 percent of the Fox film together, making a piece that drew tears and strong reviews at this month's Toronto International Film Festival. They worked around Nash's Suns life, editing film by Internet videoconference.

"I have no idea if we'll find a niche or if we'll just make things we like in a random but interesting way," Nash said.

Determination

Basketball, which this year will put Nash over the $100 million mark in career earnings, is now just a part of his business portfolio. He hopes to apply the same drive to make other passions profitable.

Before Meathawk, the roots of Consigliere, his month-old Manhattan marketing company, formed in 2007. Nash went to Deutsch, an esteemed ad agency in New York City, for two weeks of talks to help pursue an equity stake in Tottenham Hotspur, his lifelong favorite English Premier League soccer team.

He met Michael Duda, Deutsch's chief strategist, and wound up back at Deutsch the next summer for a three-month unpaid internship (with an office) to learn business strategies for Meathawk.

"There was a depth that was almost surprising, as he showed up to work as this slight, athletic guy on a skateboard," Duda said. "He's very unassuming and participatory. He's got this insatiable tenacity of wanting to do something well. He has a genuine curiosity driven by a desire to succeed. It's refreshing."

Duda said Deutsch's people learned more from Nash's "quick-twitch brain" than vice versa because of his discipline, efficiency, ideas and forest-for-the-trees vision. Nash talked to Duda about how ad firms should emphasize the draw of a product's brand and invest in the companies, just as Consigliere now sets out to do.

Duda said he is staking his career on Nash's creativity and networking.

"The amount of five-, 10-minute phone calls we have a week are probably as effective as people I work with 15 to 20 hours per week," Duda said. "Steve will have a better career off the court than on it."

Selflessness

On the court, Nash's unselfishness helps his teammates thrive. Off the court, that same generosity helps children prosper.

The first non-basketball work Nash did is his 9-year-old Steve Nash Foundation, which gives kids charities $250,000 to $500,000 annually. It committed $2 million for an east Phoenix early-childhood education and health center, which broke ground this month.

Nash embraced charity for many years while insisting his name be unattached. As with film and business, he learned the power of his brand to elicit contributions.

"I always worry Steve is going to hear that most athletes or celebrities don't spend every day working on their foundation because I'll lose my Number 1 volunteer," said Jenny Miller, foundation executive director. "He's an incredible problem solver. He can see the end result and figure out not only the best and fastest way to get there but the most productive, creative, inclusive way."

Nash's efforts target the plights of children where he works (Arizona), where he grew up (British Columbia) and where his wife grew up (Paraguay). His endorsements always have a tie-in to his foundation, which he calls "the pillar of what I want to do long term."

Nash's belief in early education caused him to take a stand against Proposition 302, which would move an early-childhood health and education fund of more than $300 million to Arizona's general fund. He does not shy away from politics, speaking out in 2003 against the Iraq war and SB 1070 this year.

"There are some things that are more important than popularity for Steve," Miller said. "Standing up for tiny children who don't have a voice means more than whether someone wants his autograph.

"He has a real need to keep things moving forward. Just because the arena you're playing in changes, your work ethic and discipline don't."

What's ahead

This year brings additional challenges for Nash. Amar'e Stoudemire left for the New York Knicks. Nash will have five or six new teammates. His favorite job, fatherhood, expands in November when a son is expected to join his twin daughters, who will soon be 6.

Nash will try to use his unique vision, drive and selflessness to get the Suns to exceed expectations, again, and to prolong his career. If his last shot is near, his next stage in life will be fast-paced, as well.

"I know what I don't know, so it's always invigorating to learn something I don't know," Nash said.

Golden State ends seven-game losing streak with 132-127 win over Phoenix

2009-12-27T03:44:00.000-08:00

Corey Maggette scored a season-high 33 points and had eight rebounds, Monta Ellis added 33 points and 10 assists and the Golden State Warriors beat the Phoenix Suns 132-127 on Saturday to end a seven-game skid.

Stephen Curry added 13 points, including two free throws with 3 seconds remaining, as Golden State outlasted Phoenix in a game that featured little defense from either team. Six players scored in double figures for the Warriors, who had lost 13 of 15 before ending a four-game losing streak to the Suns.

Steve Nash had 36 points and nine assists for Phoenix, but the veteran point guard missed a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds that would have tied the game. The Suns have lost seven straight road games.

Maggette went 13 of 17 from the floor and scored four points in the final 90 seconds, including a follow-up dunk that gave Golden State a 127-123 lead after Ellis missed a jumper.

After Nash scored on a driving layup, Maggette made two free throws to make it 129-125. Nash, who had 19 points in the third quarter, scored on another layup but Anthony Morrow made a free throw before Nash missed the 3-pointer.

Anthony Randolph had 17 points, while Morrow and C.J. Watson had 14 points apiece for Golden State, who hadn't won since beating New Jersey 105-89 on Dec. 9.

Phoenix's Jason Richardson had 22 points against his former team while Amare Stoudamire had just nine points and seven rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

The Suns were coming off a 124-93 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas Day, which might have had an effect late in the game against Golden State.

Phoenix led 108-104 after three quarters but was outscored 17-8 to start the final period and couldn't catch up after that.

Phoenix beat Golden State 123-101 when the two teams played at US Airways Center on Oct. 30. Warriors coach Don Nelson had a full roster to work with in that first matchup but since then the team has traded disgruntled forward and former team captain Stephen Jackson to Charlotte, lost Kalenna Azubuike to a season-ending knee injury and has been without injured starting center Andris Biedrins.

Surprisingly, the Warriors played better the second time around with less than a full roster of healthy players.

Neither team played much defense in the first half, a typical theme when the two Pacific Division teams meet. The Suns led 71-70 at the break.

The trend continued into the third quarter when Ellis and Maggette had 12 points apiece for Golden State. But the Warriors couldn't stop Nash, who made four 3-pointers, to give Phoenix a 108-104 edge.

NOTES: Golden State's Ronny Turiaf had seven points and five rebounds in his first game since Nov. 30. ... Biedrins (lower back strain) will try to play Monday when Golden State hosts Boston. ... Phoenix hasn't won back-to-back games since Nov. 27-29.

Nash lifts play of ex-Bobcats

2009-11-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

A year ago, Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley were Charlotte Bobcats, unaware of what an elite point guard could do for them and what winning regularly during an NBA season would feel like.

That feeling never fully arrived amid a chaotic transition last season to a team with issues. But now playing with a Steve Nash who is fully able to leverage this system's splendor, each is enjoying new successes.

Richardson, a go-to scorer his entire career, was uneasy about his place in a system full of scorers when Phoenix acquired him in a December trade. Nash was trying to figure out where to hit his new target.

The high-speed connection has been established, thanks to a preseason and a well-tailored offense.

"It's no different than a quarterback and receiver," coach Alvin Gentry said. "They have to feel comfortable with each other."

Since going scoreless Wednesday at Orlando, Richardson has led the Suns in scoring three times with uncanny similarity in chances. He took 16 shots and either seven or eight 3-pointers in each win, averaging 28.3 points.

His 72.7 percent 3-point shooting has the Suns shooting better from 3-point range (47.1 percent) than 18 other NBA teams shoot from the field.

Of the 11 shots Richardson made Monday at Philadelphia, Nash assisted on eight with an expanded repertoire of alley-oops and half-court passes.

"I felt bad at times, candidly, because I felt like I haven't done him any favors," Nash said. "But it's growing. It's fun to play with him. I want to be able to make the game easier for him. It's starting to develop."

Richardson came to Phoenix feeling like a fifth option behind "four Hall of Famers." He has learned he might be that fifth option, or the first, in any game. The Suns are 18-5 when he scores 20 points and 4-0 when he scores 30.

"They need me to step up scoring a little, and I'm being more aggressive," he said. "I wasn't expecting to score this much, but, hey, let's keep it going."

When Dudley came to Phoenix, he could not get playing time.

Dudley slipped into the rotation when Gentry became coach but never played with Nash.

As Dudley's value has emerged, that has changed. Gentry needed Dudley for all of the fourth quarter in Monday's win.

Usually, Gentry talks about how box scores do not reflect Dudley's impact. This time, it did. He tallied 13 points, four rebounds and two steals, scoring all of his points during a 20-11 Suns run that rallied them from a seven-point hole.

"If I play with Steve, you see . . . " Dudley said, as Leandro Barbosa began laughing next to him.

"I'm never going to play with a point guard most likely as good as Steve Nash. So if I can work every day to get to play with the starters some, that's what I'll do. It's a privilege to play with him."

Gentry does not automatically reinsert starters. He also played Barbosa the entire fourth quarter Monday, and Barbosa made a late 3-pointer that erased the 76ers' lead.

"We have faith in the guys on our bench that we'll go with them all the way down the stretch," Gentry said.

Dudley matched his career high with four 3-pointers, giving him five consecutive games with at least one. His defensive intensity puts him on the floor regardless of his shot. In only 21 minutes per game, Dudley has a team-best 1.4 steals average.

"You know he's going to give you everything he's got every single night," Gentry said.

Nash teaches Curry how it's done

2009-11-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

When Warriors rookie Stephen Curry was yanked in the closing minute of the first half Friday night, a courtside fan stood up and yelled, "Take some notes, Curry."

Consider Friday's 123-101 loss to Phoenix learning experience No. 2 of the point guard's two-game career.

After making a costly turnover in the final 1 1/2 minutes of the Warriors' one-point loss to Houston on Wednesday, Curry got a game's worth of lessons from Steve Nash at the US Airways Center.

"Hopefully, Curry will learn a little from each game," coach Don Nelson said. "He saw a great point guard tonight, one that I know he would like to emulate."

Nash had 18 points, 20 assists and six rebounds, and he didn't make any of his three turnovers until the victory was clinched early in the second half. He showed Curry, who is often compared to a young version of the two-time league MVP, a nearly flawless example of how to run a winning team.

"I was pretty disappointed in our defensive coverages," Nelson said. "Nash is going to pick you apart whenever he can, and he certainly did. Offensively, we were inept.

"Other than that, we're going home, and it'll be Halloween."

Nash spread the ball around, putting Leandro Barbosa and Channing Frye in positions to score 24 and 22, respectively. He also set up Amar'e Stoudamire on most of his 20 points and Grant Hill on the majority of his 18.

"Nash was always in the right position to set his teammates up," Curry said. "He didn't really force anything, and made the shots when he had to take them. That's how he plays. That's why he's one of the best point guards in the game."

The Warriors got a standout game only from Monta Ellis, who went for 19 points, five rebounds and three assists, and was effective and active on the defensive end. Curry had 12 points, four assists and three turnovers.

"The rookie season is always tough, and Curry is going through the ups and downs of learning the game," Stephen Jackson said. "But he's going to be a great player in this league."

This wasn't the start the Warriors were looking for. The schedulemakers gave Golden State a tired Houston squad to open, and Phoenix marked the first of eight consecutive games against lottery teams. Yet, the Warriors sit at 0-2.

The Warriors weren't really in it against the Suns. They shot 42.4 percent, were outrebounded 47-38 and committed 22 turnovers that resulted in 31 points.

"We don't move the ball as well as we have in past years," Jackson said. "The chemistry we used to have is not even close, but I think it's up to the coaches to figure out what guys to have out there and get that chemistry back."

Kerr, Nash

2009-06-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

Suns General Manager Steve Kerr will be in New York Thursday to secure a piece of the Suns' future.

Early draft preparation? No. A meeting at the NBA's offices? No.

He's in New York to meet with Steve Nash, who lives there in the summer.

Kerr will meet with the point guard and his agent, Bill Duffy, Thursday to discuss a contract extension and the the franchise's plan with the draft a week away, free agency two weeks away and numerous trade possibilities.

"It's more about letting each other know how we feel," Kerr said. "I can give him some ideas (of a plan), but there's no telling what can happen."

Nash, 35, is entering the final year of his contract, which would pay him $13,125,000 once a partial team option is exercised. Nash is eligible for a two-year extension but wants to see how the Suns' off-season moves unfold.

Steve skeptical of Suns' plan to sit him

2008-09-03T04:05:00.001-07:00

"It's August, and Steve Nash is listening to his iPod as he walks to his car, so he really doesn't want to talk.

But I give it a shot anyway.

"Can I get you for five minutes?" I ask.

"You've got three," Nash says.

Nash isn't big-timing me. Nor is he being rude. He simply doesn't like to do interviews until after Labor Day. He figures if he does one, he'll have to do 100, and then he'll never get away.

But he's just finished his workout at US Airways Center, and I'm standing right in front of him, so he acquiesces.

Knowing my time limit, I come right to the point.

"What do you think of (general manager) Steve Kerr's plan to limit you to 70 games next season?"

Nash gives me that "you're-not-going-to-get-much-out-of-me smile" and then proceeds to, well, not give me much.

"We'll see how it goes," he says. "Those are great intentions, but is it realistic? We'll see."

Nash, 34, is receptive to the idea of getting more rest. He played in 81 of 82 games last year and averaged 34.3 minutes per game. To put that in perspective, Dallas point guard Jason Kidd, 35, was the only player older than Nash to log as many minutes.

Nash points out that San Antonio point guard Tony Parker had fresh legs for the playoffs last May in part because he missed three weeks and 13 games of the regular season with an ankle injury.

Of course, Parker is also eight years younger than Nash.

"I feel like you can always use the rest," Nash says. "If you can get to the postseason well rested, it's perfect. But you can't always afford to do that."

And there's the rub.

Is Phoenix good enough that it can sit Nash for 12 games?

"I don't know," Nash says. "Probably not."

There's no probably about it.

As good as newly imported backup Goran Dragic might become eventually, he'll be a rookie this season. Then consider that the Suns expect Shaquille O'Neal to come down with one ailment or another and miss around 30 games.

Finally, the Western Conference is a bear. Five teams are clearly superior to the Suns: The Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans, San Antonio, Utah and Houston. Portland and Dallas are on the same plane.

Phoenix likely will make the playoffs if Nash plays just 70 games - there isn't a potential surprise team among the also-rans - but what chance will it have to get out of the first round if it's facing one of the conference's top three teams?

No, as well-intentioned as Kerr's idea may be, I'm guessing coach Terry Porter quickly will learn what Mike D'Antoni knew: Nash needs to be on the floor."

celebrity soccer helps Nash recover for the next NBA season?

2008-07-19T00:50:00.000-07:00

I was saddened to learn yesterday morning that Team Canada was spanked by Slovenia at the Olympic basketball qualifier in Greece.
I think Canada would have done a lot better if Steve Nash was in the lineup, but Nash, of course, can't play because he is tired and banged up from playing so many seasons in the NBA.
Somehow, veteran NBAers like Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, and the Raptors' own Rasho Nesterovic are able to drag their beaten-down bodies to pre-Olympic tournaments. Hell, former Raptors forward Jorge Garbajosa probably has kissed his NBA career away as a result of his commitment to Spanish basketball.
But Nash says he's too tired to play for Canada, and I guess we have to give him the benefit of the doubt. I certainly do, and I'm pleased that Steve is taking steps to rest and recuperate for the coming NBA season, like when he played in a celebrity soccer game a couple of weeks ago in New York City.
I, for one, encourage Steve to take further steps in his pursuit of rest and recuperation. There are plenty of celebrity marathon and decathlon events he can enter this summer ... in an effort to relax and recuperate.
Yes, it's important for Steve to get his priorities in order and that celebrity soccer game in New York was much more important than playing for his country at the Olympic basketball tournament.
Here's to you, Captain Canada ... in your quest for rest and recuperation.
Yes, I've been able to sleep well knowing that Steve Nash is getting the rest he so sorely needs.
I'm also pumped about this "Fan-Related Announcement" the boys at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. will be making today.
There are all sorts of rumours out there as to exactly what this announcement will entail...

Nash: Adversity helps for playoffs

2008-01-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

The Suns had some humbug to their holidays, but in Boston it has been Christmas nearly every day of the season.

Fans remember what that was like. It was three years ago, when Phoenix's franchise turnaround shocked the NBA - and itself - with a 31-4 start. The buzz lasted another year when the Suns disproved beliefs that they would not contend without Amaré Stoudemire.

These days, Phoenix's 22-9 record and virtual tie for first place in the West causes consternation among fans and dissatisfaction in the locker room because it is not at the championship standard.

Nobody is having as much fun - and so be it, Suns guard Steve Nash says. That happens when you win as much as this era of Suns, who could beat Seattle at home Thursday night for their 200th victory since Nash's 2004 return to Phoenix.

Just like the club's 40th anniversary that it celebrates Thursday night, these Suns are grown up.

"That's forever gone," Nash said of that 2004-05 season when each game was "this exciting, beautiful gift" to the team and fans. "That's forever gone. Now we have to be grown men and professionals and not euphoric souls."

Nash said he did not foresee that this regular season would be less enjoyable for a team whose proving ground lies in the postseason. Nor is he envious that the lost magic can be seen in Boston's bounce.

"Been there, done that," Nash said. "Hopefully we're hardened and grizzled because of it and when the time comes, we'll be ahead of that place."

Phoenix faces a wide range of opponents on this homestand - a rebuilding team (Seattle), a rising threat (New Orleans), a division leader (Denver) and a struggling team (Indiana).

"No matter who we play, if we lose, it's a disaster for the fans," Nash said.

That minutia of analyzing losses grates on him. He always has said he does not read the newspaper, listen to sports radio or watch local sports television. He would rather lock in on each day's task and have his team apply the same focus.

"It's probably not as enjoyable thus far, and that's the part that we need to just keep battling for is to try to make it fun and not be so maybe overly critical or not so affected by people's opinions," Nash said. "Just worry about having fun every day. We've got talent. If we play hard and have fun, we're going to go far, no matter what; I guarantee that. That's the tough part. We've got to find a way to keep making it fun - make it more fun than it's been thus far."

Canada needs Nash

2007-09-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

After qualifying for next year's Beijing showdown tournament, which could end up in Vancouver, Canadian men's basketball coach Leo Rautins is very happy with how his young team has come along.

They'll still have a long way to go to qualify, but if they do Rautins says he'll have a serious offer to make to Canada's best player, one Steve Nash.

"I think it's our obligation to qualify, and if we do we would then be in position to offer Steve the opportunity to play with what we believe will unquestionably be the most talented guys he will ever have played with in a Canadian jersey," said Rautins.

"If he wanted to come along next year and join us to make the [qualification] process that much easier, so much the better. But he knows we're here and I do my best to keep him informed of everything we're doing.

"I talk to him formally once a year about the issue. During the season when I see him [Rautins is also the TV colour man on some Raptor NBA games] I just say 'hi', ask him how he's feeling and how things are going."

Nash knows there is a possibility that Canada could host the 12-team FIBA qualifying, which would produce outstanding entertainment, with Vancouver and Toronto the only real considerations, although Edmonton seems to be able to make a success out of almost anything.

However there are other countries which will no doubt be interested in hosting in July when three of 12 teams will make the Olympics. The FIBA decision will almost certainly depend upon what sort of money guarantees they can wring out of the hosts.

"We'd love for it to be in Canada and I hope someone in Vancouver or Toronto steps up, but that's something that has to be determined by others," said Rautins, whose side finished fifth in the recent Americas tournament with a young, big team that was literally begging for a point guard. Nash happens to be the best in the world.

But Nash, in part to prove his former employer Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wrong (he said the Victoria native wears down in the playoffs), prefers to use the summer to train, get away from the game and prepare for the pressure he carries in Phoenix. And who can blame him? He's worn the Canadian jersey many times and performed miracles in it. There's also the small matter of roughly $11 million he gets per season from the Suns. That's where his first allegiance must lie.

But when asked what the most pressing need for his young team is, Rautins was quick to answer "a point guard," and if you saw this team play last week you know he wasn't just trying a different pressure tactic on Nash.

"Jermaine Anderson did a great job for us, I can't say enough about him," said Rautins of a guy who at times would dribble out of the gym if you opened the doors of the building.

"His assist to turnover ratio was one of the best in the tournament and he's an outstanding outside shooter, but the point is just not his natural position. Having said that, I like him at the point, but more off the ball where he can get more shots."

The team cannot be discussed without mentioning Montreal's Samuel Dalembert, who got his Canadian passport just a couple of weeks before last week's Vegas tournament. The 6-foot-11 forward has added a whole new dimension to this team, anchoring a group of big men that stands up well to the international format of a lot of games in a short period of time.

"Sam gives us that big body defensive presence Canada hasn't had in 10, 15,20, 30 years even," said Rautins. "He changes the whole complexion of our team ... and he's such a good team guy as well."

With Dalembert blocking shots and making getting through the lane a dangerous business, there's no telling how good Canada could become. They will be better next year regardless with guys like Denhem Brown, Olu Famutimi, Juan Mendez and Vancouver's Levon Kendall all going to Europe for pro experience. But if ever Nash would walk through that crack he's left open in the almost-closed door to the national team, then you're likely to tear Jamaal Magloire away from his Caribbean beauty pageant and land Rowan Barrett as well.

Then you could almost mention the words "medal" and "Canada" in the same sentence.

I apologize...

2007-08-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

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Nash: Zach Will Help Knicks

2007-07-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

Steve Nash knows a few things about being a premier offensive player in the NBA and he seems to think the Knicks got one when they traded for Zach Randolph last week.
When asked what he thought the forward brought to the Knicks, the former MVP said, "About 20 points and 10 rebounds [per game] off the bat," Nash said. "He's a great low-post scorer and can hit a mid-range shot and he can rebound."
Isiah Thomas took a chance on the talented, but troubled, Randolph, giving up Channing Frye and Steve Francis in the transaction. Nash, who was at Kean University in Union, N.J. yesterday at a Nike basketball clinic, said he thought the deal was worth the risk.
"Offensively, he's going to give them a lot," Nash said. "They don't grow on trees, guys who give that to a team."
Nash also said he wasn't holding his breath waiting for stars like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett to be traded.
"Those things are mostly all just talk," Nash said. "Big trades these days are so hard to pull off. I expect our team to be come back intact."
Nash worked for the past few days at the Steve Nash Skills Academy, a clinic for some of the top high school and college point guards in the nation. Bryant, Vince Carter and Amare Stoudamire also are hosting clinics this week, which are supposed to focus more on skill development than previous sneaker-sponsored camps.
Among the guards with Nash were Rice's Kemba Walker and Lamont Jones. Both players said they learned a lot from Nash, as well as the NBA assistant coaches who ran drills.
"He told me I needed to make better decisions," said Jones, who will be a junior and verbally committed to Louisville. Rice head coach Maurice Hicks likely will be thrilled to hear that. "I took it to heart. He's Steve Nash."

Nash honoured for helping children

2007-06-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

Suns guard Steve Nash is the 2007 recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award, presented annually by the Professional Basketball Writers Association.Named after the former NBA commissioner, the award recognizes an NBA player or coach for outstanding community service and commitment to serve and give of his time outside the arena.Nash has helped countless children through the Steve Nash Foundation, formed in 2001 with the goal of assisting underserved kids in their health, personal development, education and enjoyment of life.The foundation’s focus areas of Phoenix and Nash’s home in British Columbia have been expanded to other countries including equipping a neonatal intensive care ward — including incubators that were in dire need — in Paraguay.Nash is the second Suns player to win the Kennedy award, joining Kevin Johnson in 1991.The Suns’ media relations staff, led by vice president of basketball communications Julie Fie, has won the inaugural PBWA’s Media Relations Staff of the Year award.

Horry welcome at Nash's charity game

2007-05-31T10:59:00.000-07:00

Steve Nash is a charitable guy. How charitable?
The Phoenix Suns' point guard said San Antonio Spurs villain Robert Horry would be welcome at his celebrity all-star game in Vancouver in the summer.
"He is always invited," Nash said. "I have to admit, even though he put me down on the blueline there, he's a great guy. He was a teammate and I really like Robert. I've been a few seconds away from snapping a few times myself. It really wasn't that bad, what he did."
Horry sent Nash flying into the scorer's table with a bodycheck in the dying moments of the Suns' win in the fourth game of their hotly contested National Basketball Association Western Conference semi-final playoff series.
Horry was suspended for two games, but the Suns' Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were also suspended, one game each, for leaving the bench, even though neither took part in the ensuing scrum. The suddenly undermanned Suns lost the fifth game at home and had their dreams of an NBA title dashed when they lost the sixth game in San Antonio.
The result is a longer off-season than Nash, native of Victoria, would like or was expecting, and another year to wait before having a chance to win his first NBA title, this year's opportunity having been taken away unfairly, Nash would argue.
"I think we have a great team," Nash said Tuesday on a telephone conference call to promote the third annual Steve Nash Charity Classic in Vancouver on July 21. "I think it's hard to judge us because of the suspensions. Part of me feels like, though we've improved, the other part of me feels like it's hard to truthfully judge this team because we were kind of stripped of a fair opportunity in many regards."
Nash, with more time on his hands now, was asked whether he might play for the Canadian national team at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Las Vegas from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2.
"I think the answer is probably no," he said. "But it's difficult because I had some of the best times of my life playing on the national team and it means a lot to me. At the same time, I owe a lot to the [Suns] franchise and I'm not getting any younger. For me to play again in the summer would be difficult for me to keep up all season with the responsibility I have to this team [the Suns]. I would say the easy answer is no, but it's very difficult for me because it's tempting and I'd love to continue being part of the national team program."
It's the second consecutive year Nash has had his celebrity game in his home province, after holding the inaugural showcase in Toronto. Proceeds go to his charitable foundation, whose projects help children in B.C. and elsewhere.
Nash was optimistic he would get a good turnout from his friends throughout the NBA, though he said league rules prevent him from naming participants.
Nash also said he hoped the event, which includes a celebrity poker game on the Friday night and a Good Karma Block Party in the afternoon, would have a neutral to positive impact on the environment. One sponsor, Chrysler, is providing alternative-fuel cars; communications are by recycled paper and organic-based ink, and a tree-planting program will counter the carbon emissions the weekend might generate.
"For me it is a source of pride to get that many people together," Nash said. "It's not a PR thing. It's about creating a difference in the community. You can do that by raising money and by raising awareness. For our foundation to be able to bring together that many people and exchange ideas and their passion for helping in their community is amazing."

Nash, Stoudemire picked for 1st team

2007-05-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Suns double-dipped on an All-NBA first team that took some double takes Thursday.Phoenix's Steve Nash and Amaré Stoudemire became the first teammates to make first team since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal did in their final season as Los Angeles Lakers teammates three years ago. This year's All-NBA oddities included a first team of all West players, including San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Bryant.
Nash was the only unanimous choice while Nowitzki, the projected Most Valuable Player winner, was left off the first team by four of 129 voters. There was Stoudemire as the All-NBA first-team center even though he has not been fond of the center label. Stoudemire had 36 first-team votes and Houston's Yao Ming had 38, meaning 55 voters picked someone else as first-team center, likely fudging for a forward-center such as Duncan.Stoudemire was asked whether he is comfortable with being a center now that it has made him All-NBA first team, an honor that pleased him so much he said he wanted to kiss the voting media members. He pondered the center query for 12 seconds of facial expressions."As long as you call me a versatile center, I can deal with it," Stoudemire said.He was a second-team All-NBA forward two years ago but missed almost all of last season due to two knee surgeries. "It definitely wasn't a goal this year," Stoudemire said of making the All-NBA first team. "My goal was just to come back from the surgery and quiet critics by making the All-Star team. Other than that, I've been working hard just to be here today in the playoffs again."It was Nash's third consecutive All-NBA first-team selection since returning to Phoenix. Nash had been left off all All-NBA honors in 2004 after making third team twice in Dallas. "I'm really proud of them," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "The whole team should take some joy in that."Shawn Marion had been All-NBA third team the past two seasons but finished 20th overall in points (41) this year and well behind third-team forwards Kevin Garnett (225) and Carmelo Anthony (142).
Marion's game ball The decision to start Kurt Thomas was the obvious change for Game 2, but the game-defining change was Marion's more intense defense on Spurs point guard Tony Parker. Parker went from 32 points in Game 1 - and a 29-point average in his four previous games vs. the Suns - to 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting in Game 2. Marion's speed and wingspan disrupted Parker."He's the guy that wherever that challenge would have been, we would've put him on it," D'Antoni said of Marion. "We felt Parker was a big key . . . Shawn did as well as anybody could do on him."We're going to score points whether it's Shawn or Amaré or Steve. Whether we win or not is how we play defensively and I thought Shawn played an unbelievable game . . . That allowed everybody not to have to suck in off their perimeters. We were more aggressive on their perimeters. We ran to them a little bit more. Nothing was easy for them."D'Antoni had asked Marion to forget about his scoring and lock in on corralling Parker, a request Marion said he had never received before Tuesday. Marion scored five points but still showed up in the box score with a team-high 10 rebounds, three blocks and a steal. "Sometimes, it's like that," Marion said of his lowest point total since Feb. 3. "I'm in a situation where I can help make this team better. If you've go to sacrifice certain things, you've got to sacrifice. I'm willing to do that."

Escape artist Nash breaks out of trap

2007-04-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

Raja Bell looked down at the box score. A reporter wanted to know which player had the better game in Phoenix’s 113-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday.Was it Amaré Stoudemire with his 27 points and playoff career-high 21 rebounds? Or Steve Nash with his 23 assists, a personal best and one shy of an NBA playoff record. “Tough call,” Bell said. “I would say it was a draw.” A political answer, but a good one, too. It’s hard to know who to single out. The Suns’ superstars did everything at the Staples Center but sell popcorn and mop the floor. And while we’re handing out compliments, how about Shawn Marion, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds in a wearying 43 minutes of play and helped limit Kobe Bryant to just one field goal in the fourth quarter? The NBA’s All-Defensive team comes out today. If Marion’s not on it, a few voters need to turn in their ballots for good. As good as Marion was, and as physically dominating as Stoudemire was, it’s Nash who deserves the biggest round of applause today. Nash had, by his standards, a substandard performance in Game 3. The numbers didn’t look bad — 10 points, 13 assists — but he wasn’t able to solve the Lakers’ trapping defense, and the Suns scored just 58 points in the final three quarters. The trap was the most widely discussed topic in the 48 hours before Game 4. Had the Lakers found a way to slow down Nash and the Suns? How would Phoenix adjust? “Steve will figure it out,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. Sometimes, it’s that simple. The Lakers tried to set their trap in the first quarter Sunday, and Nash made them pay. Instead of stopping and allowing the double-team to engulf him, he simply dribbled around the Lakers’ big men, giving himself the space he needed to operate. An open court for Nash is like giving Picasso an empty canvas, and by the end of the first half Nash had 15 assists, tying an NBA playoff record. He had two more assists for the game than the entire Lakers team. “Steve was fantastic,” Bell said. “Like I said after the last game, if they’re going to play like that, we’re pretty confident having Steve make the decisions.” Nash may be the most unselfish point guard in the NBA — he’s content going scoreless if the Suns win — but he knows there are games when he has to take over. Sunday was one of them. “I felt like I had to be more aggressive,” Nash said. “I tried to put the onus on myself to make more plays.” Nash rendered the trap so ineffective that Lakers coach Phil Jackson rarely bothered to use it the final three quarters. He knew when he was beat. “You’re not going to fool Steve for long,” Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni said. D’Antoni took Nash out with 62 seconds remaining even though he needed just one assist to tie the record set by John Stockton and Magic Johnson, who was sitting courtside. Nash said he wasn’t aware he was that close. Nor did he seem to care. “It wasn’t meant to be, but that’s all right,” he said. “They deserve it. … They’re probably the two best point guards ever to play the game.” Modest words, but what else would you expect? Nash knows better than to get in a debate about the premier point guards in NBA history. It’s a trap.

Nash points the way again

2007-04-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

This much is clear from informal polling: Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki will be the top three finishers in the NBA MVP balloting. The order shown above is the journalistically responsible, alphabetical listing.
The real order of finish? It'll very likely be the exact opposite — and a journalistically irresponsible, wrong listing. That's because Nowitzki has not had the kind of dominant individual season to deserve it — especially when Nash has been much more of a leader for a team nearly as good and Bryant has again ditched his contemporaries to play one-on-one with Wilt Chamberlain.
The writers and broadcasters who vote for this award have gotten lazy. It slipped back in 1997 when Karl Malone was gifted an MVP award while Michael Jordan was still playing and winning everything. Here's an idea: A journalist should prioritize accuracy over generosity when it comes to his job.
The trap people are falling into now is that Nowitzki's team finally ascended to the best record in the NBA, so he must've put Dallas over the top, right? The best player on the team with the best record, right? Just like when Nash won it two years ago, right?
Let's look at it more closely. Nowitzki is coached by Avery Johnson, who was voted the NBA Coach of the Year last season and is by every possible account the unquestioned leader of that team. He is the main reason Dallas is so great this season; Johnson changed the team's culture by harping on defense and effort — and when Toronto's Sam Mitchell beats out Johnson for Coach of the Year this year, it'll be a separate injustice. (More stupid voter rationalization: We gave it to Avery last year, so he can't win it again. The reality is that Raptors president Bryan Colangelo came from Phoenix and was the one to change Toronto's culture.)
Here's something else to consider: The inside dope within the league is that the way to beat Dallas is to not worry first about Nowitzki. Check out the scoring numbers from Dallas' victories and losses.
Nowitzki's scoring is almost the same in victories (24.7 points) and losses (24.1). When Dallas loses, it's because Josh Howard is held to 13.5 points instead of 20.2 in victories and Jason Terry is held to 13.8 instead of 17.5.
Outside the numbers, there's still the inside-the-lines reality that Nowitzki tightens up late in games — as seen in that double-overtime loss to Nash's Suns last month (Howard was 7 for 19 that night) and a brain-lock inbounds turnover to lose in Denver two weeks ago (Howard was hurt in the first quarter).
Here's hoping more voters remember Dallas' two recent losses to Phoenix, because it's true that late-season games are the most revealing. That's another reason Bryant merits consideration.
Last season, Bryant got more first-place votes than anyone but Nash — rightly so because Bryant had a historic season for a good team when no other candidate was that compelling. Yet because the Lakers weren't an elite team, Bryant was left off so many ballots that he finished fourth.
That negative is even stronger in this weaker Lakers season, no matter that Bryant tried to be more valuable by surrendering his wing position to organize the offense for his teammates. Bryant will still win the scoring title and has so ruled the past few months despite double- and triple-teams that his peers readily acknowledge his preeminence.
"It's something that probably is going to flash before our eyes, and I don't think it'll ever happen again," Seattle's Rashard Lewis said of Bryant's productivity. "The only person I can think about that he's catching up with is Michael Jordan."
Jordan, though, was winning every single year. Bryant — even if he is "the best player in the league, no doubt," as Tracy McGrady told The New York Times — is on a 41-40 team and hasn't been quite as good as last season, when Bryant was more dominant offensively and sharper defensively.
Which brings us to Nash, who actually didn't top this voter's ballot either of the past two years. Yet all those who did make him two-time MVP should ask themselves this question: What in the world has Nash done worse this season? Cut his hair too short?
He remains the Suns' lead singer on and off the court, and his numbers (18.8 points, 11.6 assists, 53.4 percent field-goal shooting) are just like last season and better than the season before that. He has even improved his defense, better positioning himself and piling up opponent charging fouls this season
The Suns' offense has never been more incredible: Their 49.4 percent shooting is the NBA's best in 10 years. And Phoenix will win about as many games as two years ago (62) and way more than last season (54).
What could stop Nash from winning? Another stupid rationalization.
We voters can't really put this little dude up there with Bill Russell and Chamberlain as the only players to win three consecutive NBA awards, can we?
It's just that sort of misguided thinking that explains why Jordan isn't on that list.

Kids playing PG must watch Nash

2007-03-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

Once in a blue moon, a sports radio topic gets me incensed. It happened to me this past Friday during my own afternoon drive show which I co-host with Mark Asher on Sports 620 KTAR. And it had to do with Steve Nash.Ash and I had decided to create a topic out of a New York Times story the day before that had pointed out the lack of true point guards in college basketball. The story said that only two players in college basketball this year averaged 7 assists per game. In 2000, 11 players averaged that many assists. The article pointed out the Allen Iverson effect, that his crossover dribble and ability to score has many of today's kids wanting to score first.
It made sense. Michael Jordan was said to have a negative effect on the mid-range jump shot as more and more high school and college players looked to fly through the air and dunk. That is part of the reason for the foreign invasion in the NBA today and the USA's lack of success in international tournaments. There just aren't as many good shooters today as there were 25 years ago. The point guard talk took off as callers offered up their explanation as to what has happened to today's floor generals. Things were going as expected until I brought up what I thought would be the Nash Factor. That's right, the Nash rambler, as Al McCoy likes to call him, should be having a positive effect on today's youth and hopefully showing these kids that the "p" in point guard is for passing. What followed not only baffled me but actually ticked me off to no end.Caller after caller, both Black and White, said that the inner-city kid doesn't follow Nash. That the Black kid growing up in the inner-city and playing point guard wants to be like Jason Kidd, Chris Paul and Allen Iverson. That he wouldn't wear a Nash jersey. That he can relate better to Iverson than to Nash. Needless to say I was baffled. What in the world could possibly be wrong with a Black kid wearing a Nash jersey or having him as his favorite player? Somehow I envisioned a kid on the playground making a behind-the-back pass to a cutter for an easy layup and walking back saying, "Just like Nash," or putting up that perfect alley-oop pass for a dunk and saying, "That's the way the two-time MVP does it." Sorry I just can't see the kid waking back after a great pass and saying, that's the way AI does it or that's the way "Starbury" does it. Or that's the way Kirk Hinrich does it. Maybe I'm ignorant. But sorry, I can't see Black and White here. A little research revealed to me that Nash currently has the sixth best selling jersey in the NBA based on sales through the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in New York and NBAStore.com through the end of 2006. Only Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Iverson and Carmelo Anthony have sold more jerseys. Nash is ahead of Tracy McGrady, Shaq, Vince Carter, Paul and many of the other stars in the league. I have to believe that his success and the way he plays the game has made him a fan of kids everywhere regardless of race.One parent told me that his son plays in a Mesa league and that none of the kids ever imitate Nash. They want to be like Iverson. Not that there is anything wrong with aspiring to be Iverson, he is a great player. But think about how stupid some of these parents may be if they are not turning their kids on to Nash.My daughter is a club soccer and softball player. When we go to the Arizona State games or watch games on television, I advise her to watch her position. In soccer she watches the stopper to see how the girl plays the position. In softball she watches the first-baseman to see how she handles the position. She learns from watching these girls play. It does her good to see a girl that is playing her position at a high level and excelling. When we watch televised games we are constantly rewinding the Tivo to see a good play over and over again. I truly believe that my daughter can get as much out of watching games as she can out of practicing them. Wouldn't it make perfect sense for every father out there whose son plays basketball to sit him down and make him watch Nash? Who better to learn the position from? Nobody plays the position better than Nash. Forget practice for a second. Just think of how beneficial it would be for any boy, or for that matter girl, who plays point guard to watch 10 Phoenix Suns games. Not just kids in Arizona but throughout the country. God blessed me with three daughters, and none are basketball players. But if I did have a kid who played point guard, I couldn't find a better example of how to play the position the right way than Nash. If the callers are right, then parents everywhere are missing the boat. Or they are off their rocker. Whether a kid is Black, White, Chinese, European, etc., there is an opportunity to learn in watching basketball. If a kid plays the small forward position there may be no better example to watch than Shawn Marion. If he is a shooting guard, then check out some Seattle games and watch Ray Allen. If he is a power forward/center, then buy the NBA package and watch San Antonio's Tim Duncan. There are so many great players in the game today and kids can pick up so much from watching the ones who play the game the right way. And it shouldn't matter if the kid is from the inner-city or the suburbs. Basketball is basketball. Now if a kid doesn't want to wear a Nash jersey because purple or orange just isn't his color, then so be it. But if it's because he can't relate then that kid's parents need a reality check. The numbers don't lie. There are more and more shooters at every level of basketball - and a lack of great playmakers. Nash should help turn that around. He is the best point guard in the world today, and he sets a great example of how to play the game the right way. Now it's time for parents and kids out there from all walks of life to get the message. Not everyone can be like Mike. Or in this case AI. Those that can't need to pass like Nash.

Wolves could learn from Nash

2007-03-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

Given the Timberwolves' identity crisis at point guard these days, the Phoenix Suns are the last team in the NBA they want to see right now.
First, there's the intimidating presence of Steve Nash, an unimpressive physical presence who somehow has become the league's premier playmaker and a two-time reigning MVP in hot pursuit of a third.
Next, there's familiar face of Marcus Banks anchored to the Phoenix bench, possibly inactive in street clothes, a reminder of how badly the Wolves whiffed when they designated the sturdy, confident and ultimately ineffective guard as the key to their January 2006 trade with Boston.
Finally, there are the three point guards currently running a weave through the position: Randy Foye, Mike James and Troy Hudson. Not one of them has handled the job to coach Randy Wittman's satisfaction or to the team's ultimate standards (winning). That's why, after practice at the Suns' facility Monday, it seemed a toss-up as to which one might start tonight, which one might sub in and which one might stay parked in a VIP seat.
Goldilocks had better choices than Wittman on most nights.
"You can't put a price tag on consistent guard play," Wittman said. "That's what runs most teams that are good. It doesn't really matter what level, high school, college or pros. Take this team -- take Steve Nash off this team, is it as good a team? The way he controls everything, how he knows to [handle] a situation out if somebody needs more touches ... it's part of being a good team."
With Kevin Garnett as a superstar who nonetheless is dependent on having the ball delivered at the right times and in the right places, with other Wolves asked to react rather than act, their need for a steady, reliable playmaker rarely has been more acute. Foye, James and Hudson, in their inability to seize the position, have made a case for some critics that this team might have three backups but no starter.
"I hope not," Wittman said. "I hope we can have a guy emerge from these three who steps up and takes control of the job. As time goes on, I think one will. We're waiting for that one to emerge."
Waiting through 65 games, with 17 to go, gets awfully close to white-flag time.
In the 109-102 loss to the Lakers on Sunday, the point guard gambit played out almost like a cruel shell game. Wittman made the switch from Hudson to Foye in the starting lineup, only to find the pea under James, who came off the bench for 18 points and 11 assists. Much of that stemmed from the Wolves' game of catch-up in closing a 19-point gap, but it was a better showing than they had gotten recently at the spot.
Foye, meanwhile, lasted just 15 minutes, with three points, one assist and three turnovers.
"I thought Randy had got into a good groove being a bench guy," Wittman said. "I thought his mind was uncluttered and that playing with the second unit got him 'into' the games because he could be aggressive. Then when he closed out games with the first unit, he didn't feel he had to do something every time he had the ball.
"And he's a rookie, too. That's something I have to keep reminding myself. Randy might be a guy who's more comfortable off the bench."
Whatever time he spends over there, Foye would be well-advised to watch Nash as Nash watches ... everything.
Said Foye of Nash: "Some of the stuff that he does, he has to see a different game. His peripheral vision is ridiculous. He can see the whole floor.
"The other night, they were playing Dallas and he was looking, looking ... as soon as he saw an opening, he made a good pass. It's like a puzzle and he looks for the right piece to put in that spot."

Nash leads MVP race by a hair!

2007-03-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

If Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t win his first MVP award, he can’t blame his best friend for stealing it.Nowitzki tossed the reward up for grabs in Phoenix’s double-overtime win over Dallas Wednesday, and Steve Nash simply did what Steve Nash does — whatever it takes to get the job done:• Goad Josh Howard into a silly 3-point foul to give his all-but-dead team one last life? Check.• Hit the stone cold 3-pointer to force overtime? Check.• Turn a turnover inside out by hustling to his feet and racing over to take a charge? Check.• Cheat the Mavs out of a game-tying set play late in the second overtime by (1) stealing the ball, (2) throwing it off Jason Terry and (3) contorting his body so it didn’t hit him out of bounds? Check. Check. Check.Then there are the things Nash didn’t do (and here’s where Dirk might want to take notes) — things that separate superstars from MVPs:• Brick a game-clinching free throw? Nope.• Run out of gas in the first overtime? Nope.• Whine himself to a technical foul that hurt his team in the second overtime? Nope.Nothing is decided yet. The MVP is still a horse race. But Nash’s timing for stating his case couldn’t have been better.Quick hitters• OK, so maybe I should have put more thought into that George Washington reaching the Sweet 16 brainstorm. Vanderbilt just went on another scoring run.• Does every Suns miracle comeback include a must-have offensive rebound that only Shawn Marion can snatch? Apparently so.• Can the Suns catch Dallas? The schedule isn’t friendly. Phoenix has one game left against the East — and it’s, uh oh, Detroit tonight. Meanwhile, the Mavs get Danny Ainge’s Boston Romper Room twice and play the next six straight against the junior varsity.• ESPN Classic will replay the Suns-Mavs epic today at 1 p.m. and NBA-TV will do the same Saturday at 1 p.m. Not sure if either replay will include Dallas owner/conspiracy theorist Mark Cuban slapping away a cameraman after the game. • With the Lakers sinking like a stone in the West, the Suns could be looking at them — again — in the first round of the playoffs. The Phoenix training staff is already stocking up on mouth guards and elbow repellent.• Meanwhile, the Jazz have blown a few sour notes, leaving San Antonio in the driver’s seat for the No. 3 seed in the West.• The Suns started Wednesday’s game hoping Boris Diaw could guard Dirk Nowitzki. By the end of the night, the question was whether Diaw could guard anyone. How many of the Mavericks’ 27 offensive rebounds came at the expense of Diaw, who didn’t grab a single board in 20 minutes?• Tough off-season for the Bears. Tank Johnson is in jail, Lance Briggs feels like he was in jail and Thomas Jones has been paroled. Start the 22-year countdown to Chicago’s next appearance in Super Bowl LXVI.

Steve posting career numbers

2007-02-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

He’s in the midst of his sixth straight season engineering the NBA’s most prolific offense. He’s going to his fifth All-Star game and putting up the kind of numbers that make a third straight NBA Most Valuable Player award a realistic possibility. He has the Suns pointed toward a franchise record for wins and battling for the league’s best record.
Steve Nash thinks all of that is very nice. And he couldn’t care less.Nash turned 33 years old on Wednesday — young for almost every walk of life but his chosen profession. And since he returned for battle in September with a shaved head, a supremely toned physique and a one-track mind, Nash has made it clear to anyone listening that anything short of an NBA title — or exhausting every reserve in the pursuit — is unacceptable.As the Suns reeled off winning streaks of 15 and 17 games and one of the best 35-game runs in league history (33-2), a less kind, less gentle Nash muted his praise and took every opportunity to point out slippage and sloppiness around the edges.Some understood the message. Others saw him as “Steve the Buzz-Kill,” nit-picking home wins over losing teams that rarely produce supreme efforts.But his message stayed on point: Winning isn’t everything — at least not yet.“There is only one successful conclusion to this season,” he said. “If we play the best we can possibly play and still get beat — OK, it happens — but I think our best will get us where we want to go.

The time is now, and the opportunity to win a championship is in front of us if we accept the challenge to make it happen.“I don’t know if I’m less gentle or whatever, but I definitely feel an evolved focus. Winning division titles and MVPs and all that stuff is great, but it’s part of a journey, not the end. What wins games in December won’t win them in May. The focus has to be on the ultimate goal, and everyone has to commit to it.”Suns coach Mike D’Antoni understands the sense of urgency coming from his coach on the floor.“When you are a supreme talent, you are also realistic. You know when you think you have a chance to go all the way,” D’Antoni said. “Steve looks around, and he sees what we have around him, he sees the competition and he sees we’re a team that can win it. So now his job is to leave no stone unturned to make sure we get there.”The byproduct might be a third straight MVP. While still leading the league and setting a personal best for assists (almost 12 a night), Nash leads the team in scoring and, at the behest of D’Antoni, is shooting more often — while actually improving his percentage at the same time.Nash not only has a handful of game-winning or game-tying shots but at least as many “dagger jumpers” that thwart comeback attempts or put away opponents.“We had to push him toward that because it’s his nature to always make the best choice, whoever winds up with the points,” D’Antoni said. “But once we said that we thought it would make us better if he shot more, he was OK with it. He couldn’t argue with making the team better.”Nash disagrees that he’s “taking over” more games, saying that he’s still taking what the defense offers up. But he also has no problem with taking the big shots.“I don’t mind at all taking responsibility for a loss, but I do mind not giving myself and my team and chance to win,” he said. “Sometimes you have to put yourself on the line. I feel much better at night if people are pointing a finger at me for not getting the job done than if I’m pointing the finger at myself because I didn’t try to step up. That’s the stuff that eats at you.”Nash has made no secret of his pride for Amaré Stoudemire’s explosive return to the team, not only as an offensive force but for his attention to detail. Last year, as Stoudemire toyed with attempts at a quick return from microfracture knee surgery, Nash all but blocked out the comeback talks, viewing it as an unnecessary distraction to a team that needed to learn to win without him.“That was such a devastating injury for Amaré, so hard to overcome,” he said. “I really felt he was outside of our problems. He had such a long road ahead of him, I felt like we had bigger things to worry about.“This year, I’ve been extremely impressed and proud of Amaré. At his age, to really change his attitude and become a better teammate, a more willing defender, more accountable to the little things, that’s so impressive.”And while Shawn Marion’s All-Star talents and Leandro Barbosa’s improvement are keys, Nash sees Stoudemire as the X-factor, the key to unlock the path to the NBA Finals — where he has never been — and a championship the Suns have never achieved.“We scored as much or more without him last year, and with the players around him he’s going to have a chance to dominate most nights,” Nash said. “But his willingness to buy into the team concept, to be that inside defensive presence and fit into what was here has been inspiring to me. I think everyone on the team feels the same way.”Nash feels he is playing the best basketball of his career, and that he’s still improving. He can see himself playing another five years at this level. But the financial realities, luxury-tax issues on the horizon and no clear-cut dynasty ruling the league all combine to step up the urgency.“The time is now, the opportunity is in front of us,” he said. “I don’t sense there is a window closing, and I don’t sense that I’m running out of time. But I sense a chance to win a championship. The question is, what do we do with it?”

Nash made quite a journey

2007-02-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

If anyone understands how it is that Steve Nash became Superman -- and really, how can it be explained? -- maybe Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo is the guy.
He was smart enough to draft Nash, dumb enough to trade him away, smart enough to know he needed him back in free agency.
But to get to today, where Nash may be on his way to a third consecutive NBA MVP award, you have to go back with Colangelo to the beginning. Back to the 1996 NCAA basketball regionals.
"Danny Ainge (then Phoenix coach) liked him from the beginning," Colangelo said. "I went to see him, he was what we call fleshy. He was somewhat pudgy. There was some doubt as to whether he was going to be able to keep up.
"The first game of those regionals, he torched the guy he was playing against and his team won. The next day, Jacque Vaughn completely locked him up and he was a good defensive player. So you're thinking, if he can get shut down like this, can he get by with faster, quicker guards?"

Still Ainge wanted him. He kept talking about Nash's basketball IQ. "In Phoenix, just like here, we did everything on a consensus basis. The consensus was, we wanted him. When pick No. 15 was getting closer, we were getting pretty excited that he was still available."
With the second pick in the draft, Isiah Thomas took Marcus Camby. Later on, a high school kid named Kobe Bryant was selected.
When the Phoenix Suns made their draft announcement, their fans booed.
The team already had Kevin Johnson, a star point guard. Soon, the Suns would have Jason Kidd, a star point guard.
Nash was the best third point guard on his own team, just nobody knew it.
"Ultimately, we had to trade him," Colangelo said. "We kind of gave Steve the choice. We said to him, we want to take care of you (financially) but we don't have the room. We were paying Johnson X and Kidd Y, we couldn't afford to give him starter's money even though he was playing starter's minutes.
"Steve said he wanted to stay, but he'd liked to get paid for it. We mutually agreed if there was a deal out there, we'd make it."
Colangelo traded Nash to Dallas for a draft pick that turned out to be Shawn Marion.
"We traded away a great player and got a great player with our pick. It worked out well for both teams," Colangelo said.
Well, yes and no. The Suns got Marion but they kind of lost their way. Nash struggled when he first got to Dallas, was once offered to the Raptors, but Glen Grunwald didn't think much of him.
Then came free agency three years ago.
"We traded Stephon Marbury and (Penny) Hardaway to New York for the expiring contract of Antonio McDyess. The real impact of the deal was getting the cap space," Colangelo said. "That space would give us the ability to go after Nash, Kobe or Tracy McGrady. We had this plan and knew the direction in which we wanted to go.
"The plan was all laid out in March, months before July. Everything was geared to that July 1 target."
Nash was the target. In fact, the Suns produced a 100-page coffee table book to seduce Nash into returning to Phoenix (as if anyone needs to be convinced to go to Phoenix).
"We did this book about what Steve had done for us, our vision for the future, our vision for him. It talked about the past with us. It was a nice way to remind him about the roots he had in the organizations.
"The most difficult thing was to break him from the close relationship he had with Dirk (Nowitzki). I think (Dallas') approach turned him off. That day we made a deal with him."
A six-year contract for $66 million US.
In retrospect, a ridiculously low figure considering the outcome.
"Did we think we were getting a potential three-time MVP?" Colangelo said. "Nobody would have thought that.
"But you have to give all the credit to Steve. To see, physically, how his body has changed, how hard he had worked, he is without a question one of the most conditioned players in the NBA.
"There's no (MVP) debate anymore. There's nothing to question."
For the record, Vaughn still is playing in the NBA. He averages 1.4 points a game in San Antonio. He doesn't shut down Steve Nash anymore.

Nash in for 3rd MVP?

2007-01-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

Tribune sports reporter Mike Tulumello takes a look at the top candidates for the NBA’s MVP award as the season hits its midway point. Among the favorites are Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Gilbert Arenas, Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James.

Why Steve will win:
It’s amazing to think that less than three years ago, the Mavericks made only a half-hearted attempt to keep Nash in Dallas because owner Mark Cuban deemed him too frail to last through a deep playoff run. At 33, the age when most guards start to decline, Nash is enjoying his best season yet. And he’s showing little sign of wear and tear. Most of all, his team never seems to lose. Let’s be the first to throw out the unthinkable: If the Suns sweep their current five-game road trip, a 70-win season starts to look possible.
Why he won’t: Voters may be reluctant to put him in a class with past superstars. Or they just might be bored with picking him again. That’s a big reason Michael Jordan won only five MVPs.

Steve Nash basketball youtube video

2007-01-21T05:14:00.000-08:00

I strongly recommend watching this :) Not the best quality, but still... Enjoy!

Steve Nash Nike basketball shoes

2007-01-21T05:03:00.000-08:00

Nike Air Max 90

Nike Air Flight Banger

Allen about Steve

2007-01-15T14:22:00.000-08:00

So this is what greatness looks like...
It's wrapped in a 6-foot-3, 195-pound package of frenetic energy. It's constantly in motion and barks out commands to four players who appear to move in perfect, precise unison.
It wields a basketball in his hands, as if he and the ball were tethered by a string, and plays the game with a unique flair and charismatic appeal that compares favorably with NBA immortals Bob Cousy and Pete Maravich.
But the comparisons do Phoenix guard Steve Nash a disservice because as Ray Allen noted: "Nash is playing at a time when players are so much more physically gifted then they've ever been. And while he may not have those gifts, that's what makes him, in my mind, the best player in the NBA."
Whenever players and coaches toss out accolades like that they tend to look at the schedule to whichever team they're playing next before piling on the praise.
Before a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant receives the love. Whenever the Cleveland Cavaliers visit Seattle, LeBron James is anointed king, and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki gets a few verbal bouquets tossed his way every time he plays the Sonics.
And yet, there's something genuine and sincere about the respect Nash receives from peers and opposing coaches.
"I was up early this morning watching tape and I watched him play three games," coach Bob Hill said. "They're talking about him winning the MVP award three years in a row and after watching those games, I agree. He's unbelievable. He's just unbelievable.
"If I lived here, I'd be at every practice and every game watching him play."
Around the league, Phoenix has been renamed Nashville. The Suns' All-Star is leading a basketball revolution. He's changing the perception of the NBA and the way the game is being played much like hoops pioneers Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving and Michael Jordan.
"Each of those guys implemented their will on the game, taking it from a floor game to above the rim," Sonics guard Earl Watson said. "Nash is doing the same thing, but he's bringing ball movement back into the game."
Added Allen: "They share the ball. There's an unselfishness going on. He understands that as a point guard, it's his job to keep everybody else happy."
That which comes as a second thought to others is second nature to Nash, who puts on a hoops clinic each time he steps on the floor.
This season, Nash ditched the mop hairdo and trimmed his long, brown locks, and he added a potent jump shot to his arsenal, which has strengthened his MVP candidacy.
Entering tonight's game at US Airways Center, he's averaging a career-best 19.9 points, up from 15.5 and 18.8 the past two seasons. Nash is also shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 50.3 percent on three-pointers, both career highs.
"It's almost impossible to put into words how difficult it is to be a point guard and being responsible in getting other guys off while also picking your spots so you can score," Watson said. "But the game comes so easily to him mentally. He sees things before they happen. It seems like he knows who has the best shot on every possession and he makes sure that person takes the shot."
Nash has guided the Suns to a 25-8 record — second-best in the NBA — and put Phoenix on track for a third straight Western Conference finals appearance.
Despite the accolades, awards and a 141-56 record in 2 ½ seasons with Phoenix, Nash is sometimes left out of the who's-the-best-player conversations which usually involve James, Bryant and Nowitzki because many believe Nash's gaudy statistics are a by-product of coach Mike D'Antoni's uptempo offense.
"Nash is the system," Chicago coach Scott Skiles told reporters. "I don't mean to shortchange anybody else, but he's the best basketball player on the face of the earth, in my opinion. I don't think it's even close.
"He can shoot the ball. He can go right or left. He can finish right or left. He has a middle game. He has the best vision in the league. He's probably the best-conditioned player in the league. People may say he's not athletic. What they should say is he's not a great leaper. But everything else athletically he does well. He moves well laterally. He's fast. He has great hand-eye coordination. He pivots on either foot. He has no real offensive weakness. And he is responsible for a style of play. Not many guys are that good."
For nearly a decade the NBA has been searching for the right combination of talent, flamboyance and championship mettle to usher in the next golden age of basketball.
Nash, 32, just might be the leader of the post-Jordan brigade, however, there's one glaring omission from his résumé: no NBA championship.
Said Allen: "In my book, he's one of the greatest players to play the game. But I'm sure in his mind, he probably feels he's got something more to prove."

Steve is on fire!

2007-01-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

The Suns have yet to be outclassed. Even on their off nights, they fight and scrap for opportunities to win every game. Not one blowout among the 31 tip-offs. Phoenix was not at optimum on this week's trip. The offense was nowhere near its sharpest. And yet the Suns come home with a 3-0 swing that might top last month's 5-0 Eastern trip.

After gritty victories against the East's top two teams Sunday (Detroit) and Tuesday (Chicago), the Suns lost a 17-point lead Wednesday to Toronto only to ride Steve Nash's will to a 100-98 victory in his annual Canada homecoming.Just as he did Sunday against the Pistons, Nash turned clutch. This time, it meant overcoming a night when his body and shot did not look well. Nash was 1 for 8 with six turnovers when the Raptors took their first lead, 83-82, on a tiring Amaré Stoudemire's fifth foul with 7:18 to go.Nash, with two points at that juncture, scored 13 in the final 7:03, including eight in a 68-second stretch late after Toronto again took a lead with 1:23 to go."I was pretty stiff and just feeling slow and old for three quarters," said Nash, whose team was playing the back end of consecutive games and losing an hour heading east."Then, all of a sudden, I had a rebirth."After Toronto went ahead 92-91, Nash hit a leaning three-pointer in transition with 1:19 to go to start his final onslaught that continued even after Stoudemire fouled out."I can't think of too many guys who would one, take that shot, and two, make it," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said.Nash picked up three more points at the line by getting Chris Bosh to bite on a pump fake with the shot clock winding down and then hit a pull-up jumper off a sideways dribble with 11.5 seconds to go for a 99-95 lead. After an Anthony Parker made a three-pointer and Shawn Marion hit one of two free throws, Darrick Martin missed a three at the buzzer when Boris Diaw stepped up with his arms outstretched to change the shot's arc.Martin, 35, had played seven games this season but ran the point for all of the fourth with T.J. Ford out injured, as is fellow starter Jorge Garbajosa. Still, the Raptors kept Phoenix out of the middle of the court defensively and came away with 22 turnovers, as the leather ball still is an obvious transition for the Suns."(Tuesday's last-second win at Chicago) wore on us a little bit, and Steve didn't have any pop until he decided not to let us lose, and that was nice," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.The Suns are now 8-0 on the road against the East. It's the best road start in interconference play since Miami's 1996-97 team began with nine straight wins.

Washington Times about this year's Steve

2006-12-27T10:24:00.000-08:00

Steve Nash is a 32-year-old freak of unparalleled audacity. His upward climb defies the customary parameters of the NBA. He is becoming ever more efficient with age, and no one thinks it is because of the cream and clear. He is built like the neighborhood runt, nondescript, right down to his previously spaghetti-like hair. Yet Nash is in position to claim his third consecutive MVP award, and there really is no one else in contention at this point in the season. He is having a career season, absurd as that is. He is shooting 90.4 pet from the free throw line, an unthinkable 49.5 percent from 3-point distance and 51.7 overall. The NBA intelligentsia is all atwitter over Allen Iverson's change of address, as if the Nuggets suddenly have bolted into championship contention. All this commotion is dispensed in honor of someone lugging around a 41.3 shooting percentage.
So where does that put Nash, besides a basketball galaxy far, far away? Even as the NBA's two-time MVP, Nash never has been universally embraced, mostly because his sleight of hand cannot be appreciated by the ordinary eye. He has been almost a begrudging two-time MVP, with many observers not sure how he does it, just that he does it. After he claimed his first MVP, Shaquille O'Neal's hometown columnist trotted out the tired notion that Nash was aided in the voting because of his whiteness, as if anyone in this nation has a special affinity for a soccer-playing Canadian who hails from that basketball power known as Santa Clara. Nash lacks a charismatic personality, which is equally hurtful to the image. His exchanges with the media can put an insomniac to sleep. There is no bravado in him, no compulsion to be disdainful of others, in the manner of Kobe Bryant's tepid assessment of Gilbert Arenas' 60-point number on the Lakers.

Steve nash haircut

2006-12-27T01:35:00.000-08:00

Do you like his new haircut? If you take into consideration that his previous, long hair was a kind of a symbol, it is not so bad, is it? Some people don't think so...

hahaha, read this:
"Nash’s hair just told of his attitude: “Not only am I the NBA MVP: I’m a freaking Canadian and I’ll whoop you at soccer.” Now that’s gone, and life on this earth has changed as we know it. On the bright side for Suns fans, Nash’s haircut lowers his wind resistance and also his weight, so expect him to go coast-to-coast in record time. I pity the teams in the Western Conference who must face this new, hybrid Nash."

Steve Nash jersey

2006-12-27T01:13:00.000-08:00

Nash started his career in Santa Clara University with number 11 on his back...

Santa Clara University retired Steve Nash's jersey when the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 1996 graduate spoke at the school's convocation ceremony Monday.A banner honoring the Phoenix Suns guard was hung in the rafters at the Leavey Center, and Nash's No. 11 jersey was raised on the opposite end of the gym. Nash is the first Santa Clara athlete whose jersey has been raised."This is obviously very exciting for me," Nash said. "I don't get a chance to come back to school often, so for me to be here is just great, and coupled with the huge honor it is to be able to be acknowledged for my career, is amazing and very humbling."Nash was recruited by coach Dick Davey, who still heads the Santa Clara program, and arrived at the Bay Area school from Canada in 1992. He led the Broncos to three berths in the NCAA tournament and two regular-season titles in the West Coast Conference, winning the league's Player of the Year award in 1995 and 1996."I owe so much to my experience here," Nash told the students assembled for convocation. "All of you guys really need to take advantage of this and make the most of your opportunity here. I urge you to really get involved, to be balanced, to do well in school, and make as many friends as possible."

Steve Nash complete biography

2006-12-26T13:56:00.000-08:00

Who is Steve Nash trying kid? Hosers raised on hockey and soccer aren’t supposed to find their way on to an NBA roster, much less be mentioned as a possible league MVP. But the skinny Canadian kid who had to beg college coaches just to take a look at him has the basketball world at his feet. And he has done it his way every step of the way. No one works harder, plays more unselfishly or has better instincts for the game. Steve also happens to be the rare professional athlete who has never let stardom blind him, even if his famously uncombed hair sometimes did. This is his story…

Steve John Nash was born on February 7, 1974 in Johannesburg, South Africa. His father, John, played professional soccer, a vocation that took him and his family all over the world. Steve’s mother, Jean, was a sports fan, so she didn’t mind the globetrotting lifestyle. As John’s career wound down, the Nashes settled in Canada. They first lived in Regina, and then moved to Victoria City on Vancouver Island (which is located on Canada’s west coast, less than 30 miles from Washington). By this point, Steve had a younger brother, Martin.
Being so close to the U.S., Steve enjoyed many of the trappings of the normal American kid. One of his passions was professional wrestling. Hulk Hogan was the star of the circuit, and Steve was a loyal Hulk-a-Maniac. He was also a sports nut. While not an especially impressive looking athlete, Steve excelled in just about everything he tried. Analyzing situations and processing information were two of his greatest assets, so naturally he did well in games of strategy. In elementary school, in fact, he won three chess titles.
It came as no surprise that Steve developed into a talented soccer player. Though John and Jean didn’t push either of their sons into any specific sport, they loved the idea of one or both of them following in their father’s footsteps. Steve, who received a soccer ball as a gift for his first birthday, showed real promise on the pitch. So did Martin. Both boys had good speed, and thanks to their dad, a wonderful feel for the game.

Steve, however, was too much of a gym rat to limit himself to one sport. He enjoyed lacrosse and rugby, and like any right-thinking Canadian kid, he was crazy about hockey. His favorite team was the Vancouver Canucks, but his idol was Wayne Gretzky. Undersized and often underestimated, the youngster identified with the Great One, who relied as much on guile and hard work as he did on God-given ability to become the most productive player in NHL history. Steve imagined himself being an equally accomplished professional athlete, though he had yet to decide on which sport he would pursue.
Then he discovered basketball. Steve played in an organized league for the first time in the eighth grade, at which point he told his mom that he would one day be an NBA star. Considering Steve’s slight build—not to mention Canada’s underwhelming hoops legacy—this seemed like an unrealistic goal to say the least. What’s more, Steve appeared to have a brighter future in other sports. He attended St. Michaels University School, and as a junior was named British Columbia’s most valuable player in soccer. A spot on the Canadian national team was his for the taking.
But Steve refused to give up on his hoops dream. St. Michaels coach Ian Hyde-Lay had never had a kid quite like his little point guard. Steve worked on his game non-stop, and his desire to make his teammates better was unmatched. He possessed ankle-breaking quickness, was fearless going to the basket and kept opponents honest with a more-than-reliable jump shot. The summer before his final year at St. Michaels, Steve visited Long Beach State in California for a short stint to test himself against some of the West Coast’s top high schoolers. He passed with flying colors. His confidence growing, he had a great senior season, averaging 21.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 11.2 assists and leading St. Michaels to Canada’s Provincials tournament.
Both Steve and his coach believed he could play major college basketball in the U.S. The problem was that hardly anyone else did. In 1991 and 1992, Hyde-Lay wrote and called more than two dozen Division 1-A programs in the States, including Arizona, Duke, Indiana, Maryland and Villanova. Every response was the same: No Thanks. For motivation, Steve put every rejection letter in a shoe box (which, legend has it, he still keeps to this day).
The one school that expressed interest in Steve was tiny Santa Clara, a Jesuit university about an hour’s drive south of San Francisco. Hyde-Lay sent game film to assistant coach Scott Gradin, who broke out laughing when he watched the video. Admittedly, Steve didn’t face the stiffest competition in high school, but opponents were literally falling on their backsides trying to guard him.
Gradin spoke to Broncos head coach Dick Davey, who flew to Canada to watch Steve in British Columbia’s senior boys’ AAA championships. Fearing he was in for the recruiting battle of his life, he was shocked to find no other American scouts in the stands at Vancouver’s Agrodome. Davey met with Steve afterwards, and offered him a full ride. The one stipulation was that Steve had to focus on becoming a complete player. Davey told the teenager that he was flat-out the worst defender he had ever seen. That was no problem. Steve was willing to do whatever was asked of him.

At Santa Clara, Steve joined a program not exactly steeped in tradition. The school’s most famous basketball alum was Kurt Rambis, the bespectacled NBA veteran who helped Pat Riley’s Showtime Los Angeles Lakers to four championships in the 1980s. When Steve arrived on campus in the fall of 1992, it had been five years since the Broncos had appeared in the NCAA Tournament, and only once in the last three seasons had they posted a record above .500. Even back in Canada, Steve got ribbed about his college choice. His friends jokingly referred to Santa Clara as “Santa Claus State.”
With Steve in the fold, Davey, in his first year at the helm for the Broncos, liked the talent he had to work with. Pete Eisenrich was an Academic All-American, DeWayne Lewis was an emerging star, and forwards Kevin Dunne and Jason Sedlock helped fill out a strong freshman class. That being said, the season preview guides said the Broncos would be lucky to climb out of the West Coast Conference cellar.
Dire predictions aside, Steve was in heaven in his new surroundings. A free thinker and quick with a smile, he made friends easily and was a favorite of his professors. And it was rare that he was seen without a basketball in his hands. Steve never had any problem talking his way into Toso Pavilion, which was where he could be found when he wasn't in the classroom. The teenager spent more than one night shooting jumpers into the wee hours of the morning.
Steve’s work ethic rubbed off on his teammates, and the Broncos surprised onlookers with a 9-5 league record during the regular season. The team really kicked it into gear in the postseason, winning the WCC tournament to earn a spot in the Big Dance. Steve, who was spectacular, became the first freshman in conference history to claim tourney MVP honors.
As a no. 15 seed, Santa Clara didn’t have any grand illusions heading into March Madness. Their first-round opponent was high-powered Arizona, which had a legitimate shot to reach the Final Four. But the Broncos came out firing, and raced to a 12-point lead late in the first half. Coach Lute Olson calmed his club, and the Wildcats turned the game around with a 25-0 run. Trailing 46-33, Santa Clara caught a break when Chris Mills picked up his fourth foul. With the Arizona star on the bench, the Broncos mounted a comeback and reclaimed the lead. Clinging to a three-point margin, Santa Clara milked the clock, forcing the Wildcats to foul. They kept sending Steve to the line and he kept converting his free throws, including six in a row down the stretch. When the final horn sounded, the Broncos celebrated their 64-61 shocker.
Santa Clara’s bubble burst in the next round, as Temple’s three-headed backcourt of Aaron McKie, Eddie Jones and Rick Brunson was too much to handle. Thanks to their upset of Arizona, however, the Broncos remained one of the tournament’s best stories.
Steve rode this wave of momentum into a summer full of hoops. First he played for British Columbia in the Canada Games, and walked off with a bronze medal. Then he did himself and his country one better in the World University Games, helping Team Canada advance to the final, where they faced a U.S. squad that included Michael Finley and Damon Stoudamire. Though the Americans captured the gold, Steve and his teammates returned home as conquering heroes.
Steve showed up at Santa Clara for his sophomore year eager to continue his run of success. But the 1993-94 edition of th Broncos struggled to meet expectations. They went just 5-7 in conference play, and ended the year a game under .500 overall. Steve played well, boosting his scoring to more than 14 points a night and topping the team in assists and steals, but he hated that the team posted a losing record.
The Broncos rebounded in the 1994-95 campaign by finishing first in the WCC with a 12-2 mark and then winning the conference tournament. Steve was the key. The league leader in scoring (20.9 ppg), passing (6.4 apg) and 3-point shooting (45.4%), he was named the WCC’s player of the year. His two most memorable performances were a 40-point game against Gonzaga, plus an effort versus St. Mary’s in which he converted all 21 of his free-throw attempts.
The Broncos returned to the Big Dance, but couldn’t summon any magic against Mississippi State. They lost 75-67, and watched the rest of March Madness from home.
After the season, Steve toyed with the idea of going pro, but thought better of it after learning he was considered no higher than a second-round pick. Instead, he took out a $1 million insurance policy and prepared for his senior year.

By now, Steve was beginning to attract the attention of the national media, not to mention pro scouts. He split the summer between another stint with the Canadian national team and workouts in California with two of the NBA’s best, Jason Kidd and Gary Payton. Playing against the pair of All-Stars provided invaluable experience. Steve learned how to use his body more effectively when going to the hole, and perhaps most important, convinced himself that he could make it at the next level.
The consensus opinion said that Steve was the college game’s most polished playmaker. Underclassmen Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury were more explosive scorers, but both looked shot first, pass second. Steve, unselfish to a fault at times, preferred to set up his teammates.
For the 1995-96 season, those teammates included Dunne and Sedlock, also back for their final seasons, and junior Marlon Garnett, an excellent long-range shooter. Deep in veteran leadership, coach Davey’s squad was eager to prove itself against the nation’s elite. The Broncos turned plenty of heads in the campaign’s opening months with victories over UCLA, Michigan State and Oregon State. In the win over the Bruins, Steve poured in 19 points and held his counterpart, Cameron Dollar, scoreless.
As the experts predicted, Santa Clara captured the WCC regular-season title, and Steve repeated as the league’s Player of the Year. Entering postseason play with high hopes, the Broncos were stunned by 9-17 Pepperdine in the first round of the conference tournament, which put them on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. With the team’s fate in the hands of the selection committee, Steve and his teammates prayed for an at-large berth. They got their wish, though they drew a tall task in opening-round opponent Maryland, which had won its first game in 12 previous NCAA appearances.
The Terrapins came out pressing, but Steve was up to the challenge, handling the swarming defense expertly and getting the Broncos lots of good looks. With Maryland on its heels, Santa Clara went to the foul line 41 times, converting 34 of their attempts. A 14-0 run in the second half ultimately spelled the difference as the Broncos cruised 91-79. Steve was the game’s star with 28 points and 12 assists.
Santa Clara ran out of gas in the next round against Kansas, losing 76-51. Steve had a tough night, shooting just 1-of-11 from the field. His performance against the Jayhawks aside, Steve felt he had done more than enough in his Santa Clara career to overcome any concerns NBA teams had about him. For good measure, he sparkled in the Nike Desert Classic before the draft, averaging eight assists a game and making the all-tournament team. But NBA scouts were still concerned about his spindly 6-3 frame and ordinary 31-inch vertical. He lasted until the 15th pick in the first round, when the Suns grabbed him.
The plan in Phoenix was to use Steve as the understudy to veteran Kevin Johnson. Eventually, team management reasoned, he would be ready to take over the starting job at point guard. But the Suns quickly shifted gears, pulling off several major trades that changed the franchise mindset. Charles Barkley was dealt before the 1996-97 season for Mark Bryant, Chuck Brown, Robert Horry and Sam Cassell. Then in December the club acquired Kidd, now an All-Star with Dallas. Once coach Cotton Fitzsimmons got a feel for his new roster, Phoenix gelled and surged into playoffs. There they met the equally athletic Seattle Supersonics, who dispatched them in the first round.
For most of the season, Steve rode the pine. Early on, he saw quality minutes, and even started a game in November, tallying 17 points and 12 assists in front of friends and family in Vancouver. But the additions of Cassell and Kidd left little PT for a third-string point guard, and he finished his rookie campaign with forgettable numbers.
Steve’s role didn’t increase much the following season. With Danny Ainge in as head coach for Fitzsimmons, who retired after five years at the helm, the Suns ratcheted up their running game. The first-year coach liked his second-year guard, but with two All-Star talents in the mix, there wasn’t room for him. Kidd was sensational in Ainge’s system, leading the break and feeding polished finishers like Antonio McDyess, Danny Manning and Rex Chapman. Phoenix raced to a record of 56-26, good for third place in the Pacific Division, and then got bit by the injury bug. Manning tore up his right knee, and Chapman hurt a hamstring. The undermanned Suns drew San Antonio in the playoffs, and the Spurs overpowered them.

Despite his limited action, Steve was viewed by many as one of the league’s most improved players. He ranked 13th in the league in 3-point shooting (41.5%), and nearly doubled his scoring average. He gave much of the credit for his development to Kidd and Johnson. Both pushed him in practice, encouraged him away from the court and were generous in sharing their insight.
No one was more impressed with Steve than the Mavericks’ assistant coach, Donnie Nelson. The two had known each other for years. When Steve was at Santa Clara, Nelson was working for the Golden State Warriors, and they became friends. Nelson next moved on to Phoenix, where he convinced the club to draft Steve. When Nelson later hooked on with his dad in Dallas, he kept a close eye on Steve. Upon learning that the point guard might be available, son prevailed upon father, and on Draft Day of 1998, the Mavs packaged Bubba Wells, Martin Muursepp, a first-round pick and the rights to Pat Garrity for Steve.
Dallas figured it had engineered a steal, and quickly signed its newest addition to a six-year, $33 million deal. But in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign, Steve was terrible, shooting just 36% from the field and averaging less than eight points a game. His poor play was one of many problems that plagued the Mavs, who posted their 10th losing year in a row. It got so bad for Steve that the Dallas fans booed him unmercifully and Nelson began using journeyman Robert Pack at crunch time. Steve offered no excuses, even though he was dogged by injuries. He suffered through a painful case of plantar fasciatis in his right foot for most of the year, and also missed the final 10 games of the season with a strained back.

Steve dealt with the disappointment of his first year in Dallas by playing more basketball. At Olympic qualifying in Puerto Rico, he led Canada to a surprising second-place finish behind the U.S. Steve earned honors as the tournament MVP, and the Canadians secured a berth in the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.
When Steve showed up for training camp with the Mavs in the fall of 1999, he was his usual charming self. Despite his poor performance the prior season, he was the club’s most popular player. Michael Finley appreciated his intensity on the floor and the way he built chemistry off it. Steve’s friendship with youngster Dirk Nowitzki was a perfect example. Steve was the first to welcome the European star when he arrived in America in 1998, and the two grew thick as thieves. Along with Finley, they were forming a promising nucleus in Dallas.
But the Mavs were still a few years from turning the corner. In fact, the 1999-00 campaign was most notable for off-court activities. In January, billionaire Mark Cuban bought the team, and among his first moves was signing Dennis Rodman. The rebounding demon and celebrated headcase caused as many problems as he solved. Dallas waived him in March.
By then, Steve and the Mavs were starting to come into their own. After missing 25 games with a right ankle strain, he returned to spark the club, recording six double-doubles in points and assists over the campaign’s final month. With Finley and Nowitzki also playing well, Dallas wound up at a respectable 40-42.
After a brief rest, Steve left with Team Canada for the Olympic hoops tournament in Australia. Head coach Gus Triano put the onus on his point guard, telling him the squad had no chance without him scoring big. Steve accepted the challenge, and then engineered upsets of Yugoslavia, Russia, Australia and Spain. A step away from the medals round, the Canadians came up short when France got smart and triple-teamed the hot-shooting point guard.
Steve next re-joined a Dallas team coming off its best record in a decade, and looking to continue its improvement. A solid start proved Steve, Finley and Nowitzki were the real deal. As the trade deadline neared, Nelson hoped to add a final puzzle piece, pulling the trigger on a blockbuster that brought All-Star Juwan Howard on board. The team went on to a 53-29 mark and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

Nelson’s philosophy was simple. He put the ball in Steve’s hands, and let everyone else run with him. The Mavs finished in the NBA’s top five in points per game, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and three-point field goal percentage. Named Comeback Player of the Year by Basketball Digest, Steve was the catalyst, establishing career-highs in scoring (15.6 ppg), passing (7.3 apg) and rebounding (3.2 rpg). Season highlights included a 17-assist performance at Utah and a 31-point outburst at home against the Lakers. The boos of the previous year were replaced by standing ovations. Now the toast of the town, Steve became one of basketball’s most eligible bachelors. His long hair, quick wit and engaging personality made him the epitome of grunge cool. Tabloids linked him to singers and starlets, including Geri “Ginger Spice” Halliwell and Elizabeth Hurley.
In the playoffs, the Mavs found themselves in a big hole after dropping the first two of their five-game series to the Jazz. But Dallas rebounded to even things up, thanks in part to Steve’s 27 points in Game 4, and then won the decider at Utah. They were just the sixth team in NBA history to come back from a 0-2 deficit. Exhausted from their spirited rally, the Mavs were no match for the Spurs in the next round, losing the series in five games.
The next few years in Dallas became a game of "Changeable Charley." With the Spurs and Lakers featuring the league’s top two big men in Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal, the Mavs were constantly rearranging their roster to make up for their lack of a dominant inside presence. In the 2001-02 season Nelson pulled off another major trade, acquiring Raef LaFrentz, Nick Van Exel, Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Avery Johnson. After christening the new American Airlines Center, the Mavs surged to a team-record 57 wins, and then swept Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs. Again, however, Dallas could advance no farther. This time it was the Kings sending them packing in five games.
Despite the loss to Sacramento, the campaign confirmed that Steve had truly arrived. At the urging of Nelson, who felt the Mavs were most dangerous when his point guard was scoring, he shot more often and increased his output to nearly 18 points a night. Ironically, forcing the action also had the effect of opening more opportunities for teammates, as Steve upped his assist total as well. Steve was selected to the Western Conference All-Star team for the first time, and he, Nowitzki and Finley garnered praise as the league’s top trio. He continued maturing as a leader, too. Steve welcomed the additions of Van Exel and Johnson, seeing the chance to catch a little extra rest every now and then. That being said, he was the only Maverick to play all 82 games.
The 2002-03 Mavericks made Nelson’s 25th year as a head coach a memorable one. The club opened the year with 14 straight victories, one short of the NBA record. After storming through the regular season at 60-22, the Mavs came within a two wins of advancing to the NBA Finals. The triumverate of Steve, Finley and Nowitzki was nearly unstoppable. They combined for more than 60 points a game, with any of the three capable of taking over on any given night. Steve, the team's third leading scorer (17.7 ppg) and the top assist man (7.3 apg), established career highs in free throws made and attempted, free throw percentage, steals and blocks. He also set a franchise record by making 49 free throws in a row, surpassing the mark of Dallas legend Rolando Blackman.

In the playoffs, Steve led a Dallas attack that featured a bigger scoring threat from Van Exel, who upped his average to nearly 20 a game. Steve played solid ball, averaging more 16 points and seven assists a night. Dallas started the postseason like a house afire, taking three straight against Portland. But the Blazers came back to win three and force a seventh game. Playing at home, the Mavs were able to finish off Portland, 107-95.
Round Two was another seven-game classic, this time against the Kings. After dropping the opener in Dallas and losing the homecourt advantage, the Mavs won the next two, including a 141-137 double-overtime thriller in Sacramento. The rest of the games went to the home teams, as Dallas advanced to the conference finals for just the second time in franchise history.
Unfortunately, there was little they could do against Duncan and Spurs, who won three of the first four and took the series four games to two. Steve and his teammates then watched in frustration as San Antonio beat the Nets in the NBA Finals, knowing New Jersey was a team they could have beaten, too.
The Mavs felt the 2003-04 season would finally see them take the final step in the West. Instead, they bowed out in the first round to the Kings. The team lacked two precious commodities, cohesion and a commitment to defense. Nelson, with the blessing of Cuban and his deep pockets, kept on fiddling with the roster. First he picked up Antawn Jamison, Danny Fortson, Jiri Welsch and Chris Mills from Golden State in exchange for Van Exel, Johnson, Evan Eschmeyer, Popeye Jones, and Antoine Rigaudeau. Then he sent LaFrentz, Mills and Welsch to Boston for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk. But even with someone as adept at building chemistry as Steve, the Mavs were no more than a hodegpodge of mismatched offensive stars.
They were great during the regular season, joining the Lakers, Kings and Spurs as the only teams to post at least 50 victories four years running. Particularly tough at home, Dallas boasted a franchise best 36-5 record at the American Airlines Center. But the Mavs folded in the playoffs, as Sacramento ran them off the court, beating them handily at their own game.
In the walk year of his contract, Steve had another strong season, scoring 14.5 points a game and dishing out almost nine assists. He got kudos from players leaguewide for keeping all of his ball-hungry teammates happy. The media loved him, too, as Steve was named to the NBA All-Interview First Team.
But the revolving door that had become the Mavs ushered him out before the 2004-05 campaign. The up-and-coming Suns needed a veteran hand to guide an impressive arsenal of young guns that included Amare Stoudamire, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson. Steve was the perfect fit. He could push tempo, distribute the ball and knock down jumpers from anywhere on the floor. Phoenix tendered the free-agent guard a five-year deal worth more than $50 million. The Mavs chose not to match the offer, and Steve joined the team with which he had started his pro career.
Phoenix coach Mike D’Antonio welcomed his new star with a backyard barbecue, and Steve was an immediate hit with his teammates. Appearing decidedly more mature with a fresh buzzcut, he embraced his role as his club’s elder statesman. (Underscoring this point was the fact that his girlfriend, Alejandra Amarilla, was expecting twin girls in the fall.)

Little slowed down the run-and-gun Suns after Steve came aboard. He endured a few injuries during the '04-05 campaign, but when he was in the lineup, Phoenix played like a runaway freight train. Indeed, the club raced to the conference’s best record (62-20) and earned homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
With Steve running the show, the Suns were the NBA’s most exciting team. Stoudamire continued his development as one of the league's true superstars, while Marion, Johnson and Richardson all quickly learned the upside of playing alongside Steve—get open and he'll get you the ball. Phoenix was the NBA's highest scoring club during the regular season, and Steve topped the league in passing at 11.5 assists a game. He also shot better than 50% from the floor for the first time in his career, and even posted a triple-double, going for 12 points, 12 assists and 13 rebounds in a March blowout of Allen Iverson and the Sixers.
Not surprisingly, Steve was one of the leading candidates for MVP. Many in the media expected Shaquille O'Neal to walk away with the hardware, but in the end voters couldn't ignore Steve's impact on the Suns. As the playoffs began, it was announced that he had won the award.
Phoenix took care of business in the first round, sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in four. Steve was uncharacteristically quiet in the series. His shot selection was questionable, and he seemed a step slow. His lethargic play spilled over into the next round, as the Suns split their first two with Mavs. With some speculating that Steve was worn out from his breakneck regular season, he recharged his battery and authored one of the most dramatic playoff stretches in recent memory. In Game 3, Steve spearheaded a 17-point laugher in Dallas with 27 points and 17 assists. Two nights later, he exploded for 48 points, but the Mavs evened the series with a 119-109 victory. Against his former mates, however, Steve had something to prove. He carried the Suns in the next two games, recording a triple-double in the team's Game 5 win and missing out on another by one rebound as Phoenix closed out Dallas in Game 6. If anyone was unsure of Steve's status as league MVP, he erased all doubts.
Unfortunately, the Suns' post-season run ended in the Western Conference Finals against San Antonio. The Spurs were simply too much for Phoenix to handle. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili thrived in the Suns' up-tempo style, and the club had no answer for Tim Duncan. Coach Gregg Popovich threw varied defensive looks at Steve, and rotated the players guarding him. He put up good numbers, but had to work much harder for them.
All things considered, the Suns and their fans still celebrated the '04-05 campaign. The franchise re-establihsed itself as a serious contender for the NBA title, and no club in the league was more fun to watch. Meanwhile, Phoenix has already begun finetuning its roster for 2005-06. The acquisition of Kurt Thomas from the Knicks (for Richardson) should give the team more balance in paint and lessen the pressure on Stoudamire to battle the NBA's top big men by himself. As far as the backcourt is concerned, Steve, as the league's reigning MVP, has things covered. Not bad for a player whose idol growing up was a hockey player, and who still calls Canada home.

After losing three key players in the off-season (Stoudemire to injury, Joe Johnson to free agency and Quentin Richardson to a trade) the Suns were not expected to repeat their successful 2005 season. However, due to Nash's leadership and the great play of teammates Marion and Boris Diaw (winner of the Most Improved Player award that season), the Suns remained one of the elite teams in the NBA. They again were the highest scoring team in the league with seven players averaging double figures in points per game. Nash was voted as a first-time starter for the 2006 Western All-Star team. On May 17 it was announced that Nash had been named to the All-NBA first team.
Nash was widely viewed as an MVP candidate as the regular season came to a close. He set career highs in points (18.8), rebounds (4.2), field goal percentage (.512) and free throw percentage (a league-leading .921). While he shot the ball more than the previous year, he averaged a league-leading 10.5 assists 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. Along with Shawn Marion, Nash led the Suns to another Pacific Division title and 54 wins. He would later be awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian athlete of the year.

Steve proves you can’t judge an NBA player on his appearance alone. Indeed, he looks more like the team manager than an All-Star point guard. But make no mistake, Steve is a marvelous talent and steely competitor.
One of his strengths is his court vision. Steve always sees the open man and gets him the ball for a good look. When he drives the lane, he’s more likely to pass than shoot. He’s at his best on the break, when his decisiveness and creativity are most evident.
Steve is a steady shooter with good range. If opponents leave him too much room, he’ll knock down 3-pointers until they finally crowd him. He takes a lot off-balance shots, but has a knack for making them, along with his fair share of crazy-looking layups. His trademark shot is a 15-foot floater. Steve likes to draw contact, partly because he’s so deadly from the foul line.
Steve relies heavily on quickness, both to release his shot and to penetrate to the basket. This skill also serves him well on defense. Steve won’t shut anyone down, but he anticipates extremely well, which produces steals and helps him grab rebounds and loose balls.
Steve has never had a teammate who didn’t rave about him. Not only is he liked as "one of the guys", but he is respected as a leader. He enjoys the pressure of the big game, and wants the ball in crunch time.