1. Winning The 2005-06 MVP Award
Stat line: 79 games, 18.8 PPG, 10.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 0.8 SPG, .512/.439/.921 shooting, 23.3 PER
Even if Kobe Bryant did get the short end of the stick in 2005-06, that probably made it even sweeter for Nash to take home his second consecutive MVP Award.
Kobe probably deserved it more (35.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.5 APG), but Nash’s stat line from this MVP season is a lot more impressive than his 2004-05 numbers. He stepped up his scoring, he joined the 50-40-90 club for the first time and he led the Suns to 54 wins and the Western Conference Finals without Amar’e Stoudemire.
What’s ironic is that Nash actually should have won the MVP Award in 2007 after having the best season of his career. That year, the NBA featured an underwhelming MVP race that ended with Dirk Nowitzki winning the award…after his Mavs had already been eliminated by the “We Believe” Golden State Warriors in the first round. Here are Nash’s numbers from that ’07 season:
- 76 games, 18.6 PPG, 11.6 APG, 3.5 RPG, 0.8 SPG, .532/.455/.899 shooting, 23.8 PER
But since Nash had just won back-to-back MVPs, the award rightfully went to someone else. Because of this, I think it’s okay for Suns fans to celebrate Nash’s MVPs since he wound up getting snubbed himself in 2007.
Bearing all that voting controversy in mind, the 2005-06 season was easily the best Nash had with the Suns to that point in his career. He led the league in assists for the second year in a row, he led the NBA in free throw percentage and he also posted a league-best true shooting percentage of 63.2.
Furthermore, Nash further solidified himself among the all-time greats with his second consecutive MVP Award:
NBA players who won consecutive MVPs: Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Moses, Bird, Magic, Jordan, Duncan, Nash, LeBron.
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) March 21, 2015
That’s some pretty darn elite company, no matter what you think about who deserved to win MVP in ’05, ’06 and ’07. I’m sure Nash would’ve traded both of his MVP trophies in for a Larry O’Brien trophy, but in terms of his top 10 moments with the Suns, nothing tops winning back-to-back MVPs.
Nash retires as one of the greatest statistical point guards ever, a world-class human being and the greatest Phoenix Sun of all time.
Next: Goran Dragic: Top 10 Moments With The Phoenix Suns