Steve Nash retired on Tuesday after playing 19 NBA seasons. He was one of the best assists man in NBA history. He never won an NBA championship. Is he a Hall Of Fame player?
Steve Nash started his career with the Phoenix Suns in the 1996 season. He was the 15th pick that year in the NBA Draft. In his first year with the Suns, he only started in two games but saw live action in 65 of them. He averaged 3.3 points per game. He would stay in Phoenix for one more season before he signed with the Dallas Mavericks for the next six.
In the 2001-2002 season he had his best year in Dallas. He started all 82 games. In those games he averaged 7.7 assists and 17.9 points. Dallas made it all the way to the Conference Semifinals before falling to the Sacramento Kings four games to one.
Nash returned to the Suns for the 2004 season and would play there until 2012. During his second stint with the Suns, Nash led them to the playoffs five times. 2009-2010 the Suns had their most success with Nash. They went all the way to the Western Conference Finals before falling to the L.A. Lakers. Nash was also the MVP of the league in 2005 and 2006. During his first league MVP season he averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 assists per game. That was the most assists per game in his career. The next year he was also named MVP with 10.5 assists and 18.8 points per game.
After the Suns missed the playoffs in 2011-2012, he was traded to the L.A. Lakers in hopes he would help guide them to an NBA championship. It wasn’t a bad year for the Lakers going 45-37 but were swept in the first round by the Spurs. The next year he had his worst year as a professional only playing in 15 games due to a nerve problem in his leg. In those 15 games he averaged 6.8 points per game. Nash was hoping to come back this year to play but that never happened. He retired after 19 seasons in the NBA.
This guy is a first ballot Hall Of Famer. He ranks third in NBA history with 10,335 assists, trailing John Stockton and Jason Kid. Nash always seemed to find his teammate wide open for an easy shot on the court. He also has the best free throw percentage in NBA history at 90.4%. That helped his teams in close games. The only knock on him is that he never went to the NBA finals or won an NBA championship. Rings shouldn’t matter for him. His stats are what should make him enshrined in the NBA Hall Of Fame. He will have to wait 5 years. His first opportunity will be in 2020.
Should Steve Nash be in the NBA Hall Of Fame?
Absolutely. He should make the grade. He gave most of his adult life to the game. Hope he makes it.
Absolutely; positively !!
Absolutely; positively