Stephen John "Steve" Nash, OC, OBC (born 7 February 1974) is a South African-born Canadian professional basketball player who last played for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nash enjoyed a successful high-school basketball career, and he was eventually given a scholarship by Santa Clara University. In his four seasons with the Broncos, the team made three NCAA Tournament appearances, and Nash was twice named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. After graduating from Santa Clara as the team's all-time leader in assists, Nash entered the 1996 NBA Draft and was selected as the 15th pick by the Phoenix Suns. He made a minimal impact, and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998. By his third season with the Mavericks, he was voted into his first NBA All-Star Game and had earned his first All-NBA selection. Together with Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, Nash led the Mavericks to the Western Conference Fi! nals the following season . However, he became a free agent after the 2003–04 season and returned to the Phoenix Suns. In the 2004–05 season, Nash led the Suns to the Western Conference Finals, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was named MVP again in the 2005–06 season, and missed out on a third consecutive MVP title to Nowitzki the next season. Named by ESPN in 2006 as the ninth greatest point guard of all time, Nash has led the league in assists and free-throw percentage at various points in his career. He is also ranked as one of the top players in NBA league history for three-point shooting, free-throw shooting, total assists and assists per game. Nash has been honoured for his contributions to various philanthropic causes. In 2006, he was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He also received the Order of Canada in 2007, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University ! of Victoria in 2008. Contents 1 Early life 2 High school 3 Col! lege career 3.1 NCAA career statistics 4 NBA career 4.1 Phoenix Suns (1996–98) 4.2 Dallas Mavericks (1998–2004) 4.3 Return to Phoenix Suns (2004–2012) 4.4 Los Angeles Lakers 5 International career 6 Player profile 6.1 NBA career statistics 6.1.1 Regular season 6.1.2 Playoffs 6.2 NBA career highlights 7 Off the court 7.1 Personal life 7.2 Charity 7.3 Endorsements 7.4 Soccer 7.5 Other interests 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Early life My heroes were Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson. I think they were just so competitive and creative. Especially Isiah, he was somebody that wasn't very tall. He had played the game mostly on the floor and it made me feel that I could find a way to do the same. Steve Nash[2] Nash was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to a Welsh mother and an English father on 7 February 1974.[3][4][5] His family moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, when he was 18 months old, then to Vancouver, before finally settling in! Victoria, British Columbia.[6] Although Nash played soccer and ice hockey, often with his younger brother, Martin, he did not start playing basketball until he was 12 or 13.[2] In eighth grade, however, he told his mother that one day he would play in the NBA and would become a star.[6] High school Nash originally attended Mount Douglas Secondary School, but after his grades began to drop, his parents decided to enroll him at St. Michaels University School, a private boarding school.[7] At St. Michaels, he starred in basketball, soccer, and rugby union. While playing basketball during his senior season, Nash averaged 21.3 points, 11.2 assists, and 9.1 rebounds per game.[8] In the 1991–92 season, he led his team in his final year to the British Columbia AAA provincial championship title, and was named the province's Player of the Year.[9] College career Although Nash's high school coach, Ian Hyde-Lay, sent letters of inquiry and highlight reels on Nash's behalf to over 30! American universities, Nash was not recruited by any university,[6] un! til Santa Clara coach Dick Davey requested video footage of the young guard. After watching Nash in person, Davey said he "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."[7] However, Davey also told Nash that he was "the worst defensive player" he had ever seen.[7] Nash was awarded a scholarship by Santa Clara for the 1992–93 season. At that time, it had been five years since the Broncos appeared in the NCAA tournament. That changed when Nash led the Broncos to a West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament title and an upset win over the No. 2 seeded Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[6] In that game, Nash scored six straight free throws in the last 30 seconds of the contest.[7] Although Santa Clara was defeated by Temple in the next round, the 1992–93 campaign was considere! d a successful one. However, the Broncos failed to sustain the momentum the following season, and only managed a 5–7 record in the conference.[6] The team rebounded in the 1994–95 season, with Nash being named Conference Player of the Year and the Broncos topping the WCC.[6] Featuring the league leader for scoring and assists in Nash, the Broncos returned to the NCAA tournament, but they were defeated by Mississippi State.[6] After the season, Nash contemplated turning professional, and decided against it when he learned that he would probably not be considered as a first-round pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.[6] In the 1995–96 season, Nash began attracting the attention of the national media and professional scouts. He had spent the summer before that honing his skills, playing with the Canadian national team and working out with the likes of established NBA players Jason Kidd and Gary Payton.[6] Santa Clara again captured the WCC title, and for the second consecutive yea! r, Nash was named Conference Player of the Year, the first Bronco to do! so since Kurt Rambis.[8] He scored 28 points in leading the #10 seed Broncos to a first round upset win over #7 seed Maryland, but then the Broncos were eliminated by Kansas. Nash's performances ensured that he was named Honorable Mention All-America as a senior by The Associated Press and the USBWA. He also finished his career as Santa Clara's all-time leader in career assists (510), free-throw percentage (.862), and made and attempted three-pointers (263–656).[8] 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).[8] In September 2006, Nash had his jersey (#11) retired, becoming the first Santa Clara student-athlete to receive that honour.[10] NCAA career statistics Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game FG% Field-goal percentage 3P% 3-point field-goal percentage FT% Free-throw percent! age RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 1992–93 Santa Clara 31 ... 24.0 .424 .408 .825 2.5 2.2 .8 .1 8.1 1993–94 Santa Clara 26 ... 29.9 .414 .399 .831 2.5 3.7 1.3 .0 14.6 1994–95 Santa Clara 27 ... 33.4 .444 .454 .879 3.8 6.4 1.8 .1 20.9 1995–96 Santa Clara 29 ... 33.8 .430 .344 .894 3.6 6.0 1.3 .0 17.0 Career[11] 113 ... 30.1 .430 .401 .867 3.1 4.5 1.3 .1 14.9 NBA career Phoenix Suns (1996–98) After graduating with a degree in sociology,[7] Nash was selected 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft. Upon hearing the draft announcement, Suns fans booed in disapproval of the relatively unknown player.[7] This was because despite his impressive college accomplishments, Nash had not played in one of the major college conferences.! During his first two seasons in the NBA, Nash played a supporting role! behind NBA star point guards Kevin Johnson, Sam Cassell, and later, Jason Kidd.[6] Both Johnson and Cassell had NBA Finals experience, while Kidd was the second overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft and already an All-Star when he arrived at Phoenix. In his rookie season, Nash only managed 10.5 minutes a game,[12] but in his second season, his playing time increased significantly and he was even ranked 13th in the league for three-point field-goal percentage.[6] Nevertheless, the Canadian's tenure with the Suns did not last. While at Santa Clara, Nash had met and befriended Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson, who worked for the Golden State Warriors at that time. After moving to Dallas, Nelson was able to convince his father, Don Nelson—then the Mavericks coach and general manager—to acquire the under-utilised Nash.[6] Following the 1998 NBA Draft, Nash was traded from the Suns to the Mavericks in exchange for Martin Müürsepp, Bubba Wells, the draft rights t! o Pat Garrity and a first-round draft pick (who later turned out to be future Phoenix team-mate Shawn Marion).[6] Dallas Mavericks (1998–2004) It was in Dallas that Nash established himself as a formidable point guard, beginning a decade as one of the game's top players. During his first year as a Maverick (the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season) he started in all 40 games he played in, and averaged 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.[12] The 19–31 Mavericks failed to make the playoffs but in the 1999–2000 season, the team's prospects improved considerably. Nash missed 25 mid-season games due to an ankle injury, but came back to record six double-doubles in the last month of play.[8] He finished the season with averages of 8.6 points and 4.9 assists per game.[12] More important
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