Whenever basketball players start to come face to face with Father Time himself, their skills soon start to diminish and the explosiveness that they once had in youth, is no longer present as they age. You can see it in players like Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, two of the greatest players of their generation, who are both starting to feel the effects of aging. However, for Steve Nash, this doesn’t seem to be true.
In fact, Nash’s skills on the court can be compared to fine wine, meaning that they only seem to get better with age. At 38 years of age, the 16-year veteran from Santa Clara has already established himself as one of the game’s all-time best point guards. He first entered the league back in 1996 after being drafted by the Phoenix Suns, playing a reserve role for All-Stars Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson.
He would only last two seasons in Phoenix before the Suns traded him to the Dallas Mavericks where he established himself as one the league’s top point guards. During his time with the Mavericks, Nash was part of the Dallas Big Three along with Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki. The trio would become the focal point of the Mavs as they helped lead the team to several successful seasons.
By 2004, Nash became a free agent and signed with the team that first drafted him back in 1996, the Phoenix Suns. It was here that Nash quickly emerged as an elite player in the league by helping improve the Sun’s record and even winning back-to-back MVP awards with them in 2004 and 2005. With Nash running the show in Phoenix, several of his teammates’ stats were quickly improving including those of Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire.
The Suns became the darlings of the NBA because of their run and gun playing style, which often saw them score more than 100 points in several games. Even after the departure of Marion and Stoudemire, Nash continued to remain the Suns’ floor general. Although it was quite apparent that Nash was starting to show some signs of aging, his skills were still not to be messed with.
He could still create space with his dribble penetration and his deadly three-point shooting. He was also capable of setting up his own shots, which forced other teams to double-team him, thus allowing his teammates to get open. He now hopes to bring the same kind of skill and attitude with him to the Los Angeles Lakers as he looks to win his first championship with the team.
Steve Nash is truly a player that has shown us that age does not have to deter you from becoming a great basketball player in the NBA.