This story first appeared in SLAM 241.
Remember when we used to call Steve Nash “Nashty Nash?” Probably not. Partly because we rarely/never called him that, but also because we didn’t talk about him enough at the time to realize that we should have.
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking—the dude won 2 MVPs back-to-back, we were obviously talking about him, right? Nah. In 2005 we were talking about Kobe, we were realizing that NBA 2K was legit, we were whining about LeBron not winning a title after two seasons in the League. Meanwhile, Nashtradamus (we didn’t call him that?) was a legitimate nightmare for teams stepping into the heat of the Phoenix desert. Nonetheless, the murmur of haters seemed to hum in the background of Nash’s success. It’s easy to see why; his hair was unique but his numbers weren’t.
Although Steve “Cash” (how was that never his nickname?) had one of the best jumpers in the League, he rarely went for buckets. He was a pass-first point guard with a stupidly high basketball IQ. This, paired with the fearlessness of a hockey player—and the chipped tooth and bloody nose to prove it—saw him drawing double teams, attacking the lane and slicing passes to Amar’e Stoudemire or Shawn Marion to finish the job at the rim. These League-leading assists were a thing of beauty, too, behind-the-back, no-look dishes served with precise excellence on a nightly basis.
On the November 2005 issue of SLAM, before he secured a double MVP award, Nash would hit a double cover. This was one of the only times that the same player would be featured on both alternate SLAM covers, and it dropped in the dopest way. One had an ’05 flavor, and the other looked like it had dropped in ’95. Honestly, prime Steve Nash would’ve been an MVP in either year.
Captain Canada (that one’s legit) traveled a bumpy road as a coach in recent months, but he’s no stranger to the grind (see: the bloody noses, the chipped tooth and the murmur of haters). Like SLAM 92 said: “Steve Nash is no joke.” His name deserves respect.
