Steve Nash

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Basketball player
Steve Nash
SteveNash3.jpg
Player information
Full name Stephen John Nash
Nickname MVSteve, Two Time, Nashty
birthday 7th February 1974 (age 46)
place of birth Johannesburg , South Africa
size 191 cm
Weight 81 kg
position Point guard
college Santa Clara
NBA draft 1996 , Pick 15, Phoenix Suns
Clubs as active
1996–1998 Phoenix Suns 1998–2004 Dallas Mavericks 2004–2012 Phoenix Suns 2012–2015 Los Angeles LakersUnited StatesUnited States
United StatesUnited States
United StatesUnited States
United StatesUnited States
National team
1993-2004 CanadaCanada Canada

Stephen John "Steve" Nash , OC , OBC (born February 7, 1974 in Johannesburg , South Africa ) is a retired Canadian basketball player . From 1996 to 2015 he played in the North American professional league NBA , most of it with the Phoenix Suns , of which he was drafted in 1996 . In addition, he was active six seasons for the Dallas Mavericks and a shorter time for the Los Angeles Lakers .

Nash is 1.91 meters tall and played in the position of point guard . He is often counted among the best players of all time in his position. In 2005 and 2006, he won the NBA Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) award . In March 2018, Nash's induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was announced.

Career

High school

Steve Nash was born in Johannesburg to British parents . His father John was a professional soccer player and comes from England , his mother Jean is Welsh . When Steve was one year old, the family moved from South Africa to Canada , where Nash grew up in Victoria , British Columbia . He first attended Mount Douglas Secondary School in neighboring Saanich , but when his grades deteriorated his parents decided to send him to a boarding school , St. Michaels University School in Victoria. At boarding school, Nash discovered his passion for basketball, soccer and rugby . In his third year of school, he averaged 21.3 points, 11.2 assists, and 9.1 rebounds per game for the school's basketball team. In 1991/92 he led his team to the British Columbia AAA Provincial Championship and was named Player of the Year for the Province of British Columbia.

college

After the efforts of his high school coach, Ian Hyde-Lay, to enable Nash to join a US university, initially unsuccessful, the California Santa Clara University became aware of Nash. University coach Dick Davey once said, “I was nervous because I was afraid that someone else might discover Nash's talent. It doesn't take a Nobel Prize to realize how good it is. I just had to hope that none of the big schools would want him. ”(“ I was nervous as hell just hoping that no one else would see him. It didn't take a Nobel Prize winner to figure out this guy's pretty good. It was just a case of hoping that none of the big names came around. ”) Davey also told Nash that he was one of the worst defenders he'd ever seen.

In Santa Clara , Nash got a scholarship for the 1992/93 season. The Santa Clara Broncos hadn't made it into the NCAA basketball tournament in five years , but that changed suddenly with Nash's arrival. In his freshman year he already led the Broncos to the West Coast Conference title and a surprise win against the big favorites Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship . The young Nash showed his nerves by converting six crucial free throws in the last 30 seconds of the game . Although Santa Clara had to admit defeat in the next round, the season was recorded as a great success. Two years later, the Broncos again won the WCC title, and Nash was named Conference Player of the Year.

Nash considered signing up for the NBA draft in 1995 , but when he learned he was unlikely to be a first-round pick , he decided against it and stayed at college for another year . In the 1995/96 season he received a lot of attention in the national media of the USA and with professional NBA scouts . You could tell immediately that he had learned a lot the previous summer, having trained with established NBA players like Jason Kidd and Gary Payton . Santa Clara took the WCC title again, and Nash was named Conference Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Nash finished his college career at Santa Clara University as the player with the most assists, the most three-point throws converted, and the best free-throw rate in university history. As of September 2006, Nash's college jersey number 11 is no longer awarded at the Santa Clara Broncos.

Phoenix Suns (1996-1998)

After earning his degree in sociology, Nash decided to try his luck in the 1996 NBA draft . The Phoenix Suns selected him with the 15th pick in the first round. The Suns fans present at the draft booed the decision, as Nash was a relatively unknown player. In his first year, Nash only played 10.5 minutes per game, but his playing time was increased in the second year, not least due to his accuracy from behind the three-point line. However, since he was overshadowed by players like Sam Cassell , Kevin Johnson and later Jason Kidd in both years , he was left with nothing but a spare role.

Nash shouldn't stay in Phoenix long. While at Santa Clara University, he met the Dallas Mavericks ' assistant coach , Donnie Nelson , who was still working for the Golden State Warriors when Nash was at college . After Donnie Nelson got his position in Dallas , he was able to convince his father, Don Nelson , the then general manager and coach of the Mavericks, to bring Nash, who had not been given sufficient opportunities in Phoenix until then. Immediately after the 1998 NBA draft , Nash was given by the Suns for Martin Müürsepp , Bubba Wells , the draft rights to Pat Garrity and a first-round pick (who would later become Shawn Marion ) to the Mavericks.

Dallas Mavericks (1998-2004)

It was only in Dallas that Nash grew into an excellent point guard , who then was one of the best players in that position for a decade. In his first season with the Mavericks, the 1998/99 season shortened because of the lockout , he played in all of his 40 games from the start and scored 7.9 points, 5.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. The Mavericks failed to make it into the playoffs with just 19 wins in 50 games , but the team looked up the following season . Although Nash had to suspend 25 games due to an ankle injury, he was able to end the season with six double doubles and raise his average to 8.6 points per game. Also good for the team was the positive development of Dirk Nowitzki , a strong year for Michael Finley and that the new owner of the team, billionaire Mark Cuban , put a lot of time and money into the team.

All of this made itself felt in the 2000/01 season when Nash had his breakthrough in the NBA with 15.6 points and 7.3 assists per game. Nowitzki and Finley and new signing Juwan Howard also had strong years, and the Mavericks made it to the NBA playoffs for the first time in more than a decade. In the second round the team lost after five games against neighboring San Antonio Spurs , but this year was the start for bigger things. The following season Nash was able to improve again: 17.9 points and 7.7 assists per game. These statistics earned him not only participation in the NBA All-Star Game but also the election to the All-NBA Third Team . In the playoffs, however, you had to admit defeat again in the second round after five games.

With a statistically almost identical performance, Nash ended the 2002/03 season and was re-elected to the NBA All-Star Game and the All-NBA 3rd Team. This time the Mavericks made it to the Western Conference Finals , but had to admit defeat to the eventual champions from San Antonio after six games . In the following season , thanks to the commitments of Antoine Walker and Antawn Jamison, an offensively stronger Mavericks team was on the field. This did not affect the playoffs, however, and the Mavericks had to admit defeat to the Sacramento Kings after five games.

After that season, Steve Nash became a free agent . He tried to negotiate a new contract with the Mavericks, who already signed Nowitzki, Walker, Finley and Jamison for a total of 50 million US dollars this year . Mark Cuban, who wanted to build the team around the younger Nowitzki and didn't want to take a big risk with the 30-year-old Nash, offered Nash a 4-year contract for $ 9 million annually. The Phoenix Suns also made an offer to Nash: six years for a total of $ 65 million. Nash didn't want to leave the Mavericks and gave Cuban a chance to outbid the Sun's offer, but Cuban didn't want to give him such a long contract for that amount, so Nash chose Phoenix.

Phoenix Suns (2004-2012)

Nash in the dress from Phoenix

In the year before Nash joined the Suns, the team won only 29 of 82 games, but they were made up of talented young players like Amar'e Stoudemire , Joe Johnson and Shawn Marion . Head coach Mike D'Antoni preferred an extremely fast pace of play, which was more built on smaller but faster players who should run their opponents into the ground and score quickly. Nash's familiarity with this style of play and the outstanding athleticism of his teammates resulted in 60 wins in 82 games in his first season with the Phoenix Suns. Their 110.4 points per game were the highest team point average in over ten years. Nash distributed 11.5 assists per game this season, hitting 50.2 percent from the field and 43.1 percent from behind the triple line. He was honored with the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award that season, 2004/05 , making him the first Canadian and only the third point guard to receive this honor. In the first playoffs for the Suns since 1993, they prevailed in four games against the Memphis Grizzlies before they met Nash's old team, the Dallas Mavericks , in the second round . After six games, the Suns could also win this series, but in the Western Conference Finals they lost in five games against the San Antonio Spurs , which subsequently secured the NBA championship.

The following season, 2005-06 , Stoudemire suffered a serious knee injury, and Johnson and Quentin Richardson were given up in trades. Despite all this, the Suns could win 54 games and secure the division victory. Nash set career bests in points and rebounds per game and was first chosen as a starter in the NBA All-Star Game. His hit rate from the field and from the free-throw line were also better than ever, and he led the league with 10.5 assists per game. All of this earned him his second consecutive MVP award. In the first round of the playoffs, the Suns fell 3-1 back against the Los Angeles Lakers , but managed to turn the series and win after seven games. In another seven games they were able to prevail against the Los Angeles Clippers . They faced the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, but this year the Suns failed to win.

In the 2006/07 season , Nash became the first player since Magic Johnson to keep an average of over 18 points and 11 assists per game over an entire season. However, he failed to be voted MVP for the third time in a row - the award went to Nash's good friend Dirk Nowitzki this season . In the playoffs, the Suns defeated the Lakers after just five games, but the second round was over after six games against the Spurs. The following season , Nash led his team to 55 wins in 82 games and was invited to the All-Star Game for the sixth time in his career. The Suns signed Shaquille O'Neal in a swap for Shawn Marion , but were eliminated by the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. Before the 2008/09 season , Coach D'Antoni was replaced by Terry Porter , who favored a more defensive style of play. The Suns struggled to implement the new coach's plan, and when they only recorded 28 wins after 51 games, Porter had to leave the team. Alvin Gentry , more suited to the Suns with his offensive style, took over but it was too late to make it to the playoffs.

Steve Nash (2009)

The 2009/10 NBA season began with eight wins in the first nine games, in which Nash was able to record 20 assists twice. Nash was selected as the point guard on the 2010 NBA All-Star Games starting grid . With 54 wins, the Suns made it back into the playoffs. Thanks to good performances from Jason Richardson and Grant Hill , they were able to prevail against the Portland Trail Blazers after six games and throw the Spurs in the second round in four games from the tournament. In the Western Conference Finals, however, they had to admit defeat to the Lakers in six games.

Even before the 2010/11 NBA season , there was a big change at the Suns: Stoudemire left the Suns and signed a contract with the New York Knicks . The Suns got Hedo Türkoğlu , Hakim Warrick and Josh Childress . Shortly after the start of the season, the Suns swapped Turkoglu, Richardson and Earl Clark for Vince Carter , Marcin Gortat and Mickaël Piétrus at Orlando Magic .

Los Angeles Lakers (2012-2015)

At the end of his career, Nash spent three years with the LA Lakers

After the 2011/12 season, Nash moved to the Los Angeles Lakers via sign-and-trade . In exchange, the Suns got a total of four draft picks. The new contract had a term of three years, was worth $ 27 million and guaranteed in full. This trade was possible because the Lakers had received a trade exception through the Lamar Odom trade (see Salary Cap in the NBA ). Nash was now number 10 because his previous number 13 is no longer awarded by the Lakers.

On January 8, 2013, during the game against the Houston Rockets , he reached a career milestone with the ten thousandth assist and is now one of five players in the NBA who have so far achieved this. However, the first season at Kobe Bryant's side did not go as expected. Despite the new signings Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace , they qualified only as seventh in the Western Conference for the playoffs and were directly defeated 0: 4 by the San Antonio Spurs in the first playoff round. The second year, Nash had problems with his leg nerves, so that he skipped much of the 2013/14 season and only played 15 games. It was the worst season for the Lakers in years and they did not qualify for the playoffs.

While preparing for the 2014/15 season , Nash suffered a back injury while carrying bags. This ended prematurely the season that was to be Nash's last. On March 21, 2015, Nash announced his retirement from professional basketball at the age of 41. He ended his career as the third best passer (behind John Stockton and Jason Kidd ) with 10,335 assists and as the safest free throw shooter in NBA history with 90.4%.

International career

Nash played for the Canadian national basketball team since 1993 . He led Canada to the quarter-finals of the 2000 Olympic Games , where they were eliminated by France . Qualification for the 2004 Olympic Games was narrowly missed, and Nash then announced his retirement from the national team. He has been the manager of the Canadian team since 2012. He hired Jay Triano as the new head coach.

After retirement

On September 25, 2015 it was officially announced that Nash was hired by the Golden State Warriors as a player development consultant . In this role, he should actively participate in team training.

Nash is also a member of the Liga ACQ Lagacy Partners LLC investor group. In 2016, for example, it acquired 80 percent of the shares in the Spanish football club RCD Mallorca .

In September 2018, Steve Nash will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame .

Awards and Achievements

Steve Nash (2008)

NBA

National team

Others

Others

  • Nash and his ex-wife Alejandra Amarilla have three children together: twins (born October 14, 2004) and a son (born November 12, 2010).
  • In the pop song "Promiscuous" by the singer Nelly Furtado , he is mentioned as " MVP ".
  • Nash is an excellent football player , which he has occasionally shown (in the form of juggling interludes) on the sidelines of NBA games. He has also trained with the pros from New York Red Bulls . There they were enthusiastic about Nash and attested that he had what it takes to be a professional footballer. His father was a professional soccer player in South Africa, his younger brother Martin (* 1975) played 38 international matches for Canada .
  • In episode 6 of the sixth season of the television series Entourage , Steve Nash had a guest appearance in which he played himself.
  • At the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver Nash belonged together with Nancy Greene , Wayne Gretzky and Catriona LeMay Doan- to-cage rotors of the Olympic torch relay and lit the Olympic flame in BC Place Stadium , together with Greene and Gretzky.
  • He is the NBA player with the highest career free throw rate (90.4%), ranked third among the NBA players with the most assists in their career (10,335) and ranked 18th with the most converted three-point throws (1,685) .
  • In 2007, Nash received the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for social engagement.
  • In 2016, Nash was inducted into the Order of Canada as an officer .

See also

Web links

Commons : Steve Nash  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paul Coro: Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash has interest, passport to play overseas. From: The Arizona Republic — Website; Phoenix, AZ, July 16, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2018 (in English).
  2. ↑ Mike Moraitis: Sun's Reportedly Trade Steve Nash to Lakers for Draft Picks . In: Bleacher Report . ( bleacherreport.com [accessed May 23, 2017]).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f THE CANADIAN KID | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE PHOENIX SUNS. Retrieved May 23, 2017 (English).
  4. ↑ a b nba.com: Player biography ( memento of the original from February 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nba.com
  5. ↑ St. Michaels University School: Steve Nash ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.smus.bc.ca
  6. ↑ a b c d e f JockBio: Steve Nash Biography. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Santa Clara: College jersey number is no longer assigned  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.azcentral.com  
  8. ↑ a b c d nba.com: Career statistics ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nba.com
  9. ^ NBA Playoffs 2001. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  10. ↑ NBA.com: PLAYOFFS 2002. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  11. ↑ NBA.com: Kerr Spurs San Antonio to Finals. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  12. ↑ NBA.com: Kings Dismiss Mavericks. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  13. ↑ SUNS: Back On The Right Track. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  14. ^ NBA MVP 2004-2005: Steve Nash
  15. ↑ NBA.com - Steve Nash Named 2004-05 NBA MVP. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  16. ↑ a b c SUNS: Another SUN-believable Season. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  17. ↑ NBA.com - Suns ?? Steve Nash Wins Second Consecutive MVP Award. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  18. ^ NBA.com - Dirk Nowitzki Wins 2006-07 MVP Award. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  19. ^ NBA.com: At a Glance 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  20. ↑ 2008-09 NBA Season Summary | Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 23, 2017 (English).
  21. ↑ NBA.com: Suns race by Sixers behind Nash's 21 points, 20 assists. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  22. ^ NBA.com: Phoenix Sun's Report Card . In: NBA.com . ( nba.com [accessed May 23, 2017]).
  23. ↑ Milestone 10,000 assists
  24. ^ The latest sign that Steve Nash isn't getting any younger. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  25. ↑ Steve Nash Out For The Season | Los Angeles Lakers . In: Los Angeles Lakers . ( nba.com [accessed May 23, 2017]).
  26. ↑ Perform Media Deutschland GmbH: Steve Nash announces the end of his career . March 21, 2015 ( spox.com [accessed May 23, 2017]).
  27. ↑ Pete Thamel: US Basketball Team Has Help From Triano, a Canadian . In: The New York Times . August 27, 2010, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed May 23, 2017]).
  28. ↑ Jay Triano named Canadian men's basketball coach . In: CBC Sports . ( cbc.ca [accessed May 23, 2017]).
  29. ^ Warriors hire Nash as player development consultant. NBA.com, September 25, 2015, accessed September 26, 2015 .
  30. ↑ A very significant and successful expansion | Mallorca - Web Oficial. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 11, 2017 ; accessed on February 11, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rcdmallorca.es
  31. ↑ Real Mallorca: Basketball player Nash takes over Utz Claassen's club . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed February 11, 2017]).
  32. ↑ NBA.com staff reports with contribution from The Associated Press: Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Maurice Cheeks lead 2018 Naismith Hall of Fame class | NBA.com . In: NBA.com . ( nba.com [accessed April 26, 2018]).
  33. ↑ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg Germany: NBA star Steve Nash: "Nowitzki is a pathetic footballer" - SPIEGEL ONLINE Sport. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
  34. ↑ Steve Nash Stats | Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 23, 2017 (English).
  35. ↑ Cleve Dheensaw: Steve Nash Receives Order of Canada, with more honors to come. timescolonist.com, May 13, 2016, accessed May 15, 2016 .
Members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the class of 2018
player

Ray Allen • Maurice Cheeks • Grant Hill • Jason Kidd • Steve Nash • Dino Rađa • Charlie Scott • Katie Smith • Tina Thompson • Ora Mae Washington

Coaches

Lefty Driesell

Sponsor

Rod Thorn • Rick Welts

personal data
SURNAME Nash, Steve
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nash, Stephen John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British-Canadian basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH 7th February 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Johannesburg , South Africa