Steve Nash is making British Columbia and Canada proud once again.
The two-time NBA MVP is a first-year candidate alongside Jason Kidd, Grant Hill and Ray Allen for theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Moreover, the legendary Detroit Pistons Pistons backcourt of Chauncey Billups and Richard are also eligible.
Honored to be nominated for the @Hoophall Big thanks to all the family, coaches, friends, teammates and supporters who helped me along the way. Especially mom and dad! pic.twitter.com/PNA2EYnLlP
— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) December 21, 2017
Nash was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, before his family moved to to Regina, Saskatchewan when he was 18 months old. They eventually settled in Victoria, where his basketball chapter began.
In his senior year at St. Michaels University School, Nash averaged 21.3 points, 11.2 assists, and 9.1 rebounds per game.
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His university career saw him finally land at Santa Clara and it was here that Steve Nash made a lasting mark.He remains third on the school’s all-time scoring list (1,689), and holds Santa Clara’s single-season free-throw percentage record (.894).
NBA Career
Stephen John Nash was selected 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 1996 NBA draft.
Nash would go on to play for the Dallas Mavericks from 1998-2004. It was in Dallas that he established himself as a rising star and one of the league’s best point guards. Due to salary cap restrictions, Mark Cuban wasn’t able to give Nash a proper contract offer in 2004.
However, his old team, the Phoenix Suns offered him a six-year, $63 million contract. This move changed the landscape of the NBA, with the team’s seven seconds or less offense.
Alongside Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash would lead the team to two Western Conference Finals.
Final Chapter For Steve Nash
His NBA career would end unfortunately with the Los Angeles Lakers. After being traded to the team in 2012, Nash suffered a number of unfortunate incidents, stemming from a non-displaced fracture in his left leg after a collision with Damian Lillard in only his second game with the team.
He leaves the game with a long list of accomplishments:
- 2× NBA Most Valuable Player
- 8× NBA All-Star
- 7× All-NBA Team
- 5× NBA assists leader
- 4× 50–40–90 club (All-Time Leader)
- 2× NBA Skills Challenge champion
- 2× FIBA AmeriCup MVP
- 3rd All-time assist leader
- 1st All-time FT%
- Lou Marsh Trophy
- 3× Lionel Conacher Award
- 2× WCC Player of the Year
The Canadian officially retired from playing on March 21st, 2015.