Steve Nash retires from the NBA
Steve Nash has announced his retirement. The NBA legend and two-time MVP has not been able to play pain-free basketball since he injured his leg in the fall of 2012, and the disclosure of his decision ranks as more of a formality than surprise.
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It still stings, though.
Nash’s career as a starter was bookended by injuries. Traded from Phoenix to Dallas to work as the point man on Don Nelson’s up-tempo offense, Nash initially let down Mavericks fans as he struggled through Achilles and back injuries – inspiring first-year Mavs owner Mark Cuban to sign Howard Eisley to compete for Dallas’ starting job prior to the 2000-01 season. His three seasons with Los Angeles were a mess – a broken leg suffered in his first month with the team led to persistent nerve and back damage, as the point guard only played 65 out of a potential 246 games with the team.
In between those frustrating runs, however, he turned in some of the brilliant basketball of his era:
Nash announced his retirement via The Players Tribune, and his own Twitter account:
From Nash’s column, discussing his decision to formally announce the end to his pro career:
The greatest gift has been to be completely immersed in my passion and striving for something I loved so much — visualizing a ladder, climbing up to my heroes. The obsession became my best friend. I talked to her, cherished her, fought with her and got knocked on my ass by her.
Nash never played in an NBA Finals game, but he did lead a series of Suns and Mavericks teams to the long ends of the Western Conference playoff bracket. Combining well-honed economy of movement, a deft passing touch, knockout shooting and a willingness to play on the edge, Nash made eight All-Star Games and participated in 120 playoff contests. Rising in an era that saw countless preps-to-pros players make the leap into professional play, Nash entered the NBA at age 22 but still ranks 40th overall in all-time minutes played.
Former Mavericks personnel boss and coach Don Nelson was the first to take on Nash as a starter, trading a draft pick that would later turn into Shawn Marion for the Suns reserve in 1998 after Vancouver general manager turned down numerous requests to swap the Canadian-raised point man for Bryant Reeves. It was under Nelson’s watch that Nash emerged from his injury woes to become an All-Star, but it wasn’t until Mike D’Antoni rolled out the ball and insisted on his “seven seconds or less”-offensive philosophy that Nash turned into a dominant player.
“Mike D’Antoni changed the game of basketball,” Nash stated in his piece on the Players’ Tribune, and it’s hard to argue with the man. Encouraging a high tempo in an era that saw countless Larry Brown-types calling play after play and eschewing the three-point shot, D’Antoni’s Suns jumped from 29 to 62 wins in 2004-05, with Nash winning the first of his two MVP awards. Just a year prior, Nash hadn’t even made the All-Star team, and Dallas owner Mark Cuban passed on matching Phoenix’s free agent offer for the 30-year old point guard, in a move most applauded at the time.
Various injuries and outright bad luck prevented those Suns from ever making it to the championship stage, and Nash will finish his career as one of two two-time MVPs (Karl Malone acted as the unfortunate other) to never win a title. His prescient play, so far ahead of its time, and standout precision led to most applauding the Lakers’ move to send two first-round draft picks and two second-rounders to Phoenix for the chance to sign the 37-year old in 2012.
A series of unfortunate injuries kept Nash from ever creating something significant with his fellow 1996 NBA draftmate Kobe Bryant, and his official retirement was more or less set in stone last fall when the Lakers announced he would miss the entire 2014-15 season with ongoing back woes.
This doesn’t take away from what he’s created. Steve Nash might be the biggest reason why you enjoy NBA basketball in 2015. His combination of well-sprung ability, work ethic, and fearlessness was downright astonishing to watch in an era that seemed set in its staid ways. Nash, in his piece, noted that the game of basketball has given him quite a bit, but Steve Nash should never underestimate just how much he’s given back to the game he chose to adopt as his own.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
