I was watching Sportscenter this morning and saw the highlights of the Suns-Pacers game, where Grant Hill turned back the clock and poured in 34 points and Channing Frye hit a game winner for Phoenix. What struck me was Steve Nash's reaction to the shot. He was so excited and genuinely happy for Frye and for the team, you would have thought that the Suns had won the NBA title. It made me smile to see Nash as the consummate teammate, but it also made me a bit sad that he'll never win a championship, especially when he is the most deserving player in the NBA of a ring.
While everyone continues to laud Amar'e Stoudemire for playing so well and the Knicks for their resurgence, Steve Nash has become the forgotten man. Stories have been published about how this proves STAT never needed Nash to be successful and that Steve needed him much, much more. This isn't even remotely fair or accurate.
Amar'e had a much easier transition to New York than Nash has had in Phoenix without Stoudemire. Raymond Felton (now Chauncey Billups), Landry Fields, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and now Carmelo Anthony are a lot better replacements than the combination of Marcin Gortat, Hakim Warrick, Hedo Turkoglu, Robin Lopez, Josh Childress, and the corpse of Vince Carter. Despite the fact that Nash is playing with considerably worse teammates than Stoudemire, both the Knicks and the Suns have identical records. The funny part of that is that the Knicks are being looked at as an upper echelon team, while the Suns are not taken very seriously. To be fair, the Suns shouldn't be. They are nowhere near a title, but then again neither are the Knicks, despite what ESPN may tell you.
So now you are probably asking, "What's the point? It sounds like you're just bagging on the Knicks and the Suns." Now, as I'm sure will be abundantly clear in the future, I can't stand the Knicks. That doesn't mean I'm delusional, however. Amar'e is having a great year and the Knicks are much better than they have been over the past decade. The point I'm trying to make is that Steve Nash has Phoenix playing much better than they should be, all while playing at a level comparable to his two MVP seasons.
Nash is averaging 16.5 points and 11.3 assists per game this year at the age of 37. Despite losing their best scorer and being poorly constructed as a team, Nash is still upbeat and motivated and his teammates follow his lead every night. By not demanding a trade to New York or begging for a deal to Orlando, Nash has basically sacrificed his last few years of playing at a high level to take part in a rebuilding effort. At no point this season has Nash folded, like LeBron against Boston in the playoffs last season, or quietly killed his team's morale, like Carmelo in Denver this year. Nash's teammates seem happy to be playing basketball and to be playing it with one of the greatest point guards of all time. And based on Nash's reaction to Frye's game winner, he seems to enjoy playing with them.
For those reasons, Steve Nash deserves a lot better than being on a team that probably won't even make the playoffs this year. Year in and year out, he has been the definition of a leader and teammate. He has made limited teammates look better than they are (Frye) and elevated other players' games to levels they never reached again (Shawn Marion, Quentin Richardson). If Nash can lead the Suns to a 30-27 record with the team they field right now, imagine what he could do in Orlando or Dallas with real teammates. Hopefully he'll get that chance again before his career ends.
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