Top Stretches: Remembering Steve Nash At His Best

Nov 8, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash sits on the bench during the second half of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at New Orleans Arena. The Pelicans defeated the Lakers 96-85. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

How should Steve Nash be remembered?

Perhaps the most complete offensive point guard in NBA history, Steve Nash dazzled fans in Phoenix for years with his ridiculous passing ability, silky smooth jump shot and team-first attitude. While never reaching an NBA Finals, Nash certainly left his mark on the league, running Mike D’Antoni’s “7 Seconds or Less” offense to perfection, all while racking up milestones at every turn.

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Nash retires as one of just five players in NBA history with more than 10,000 career assists, and he currently sits at third all-time on the leaderboard, behind only John Stockton and Jason Kidd. The point guard out of Santa Clara was also one of the best shooters in NBA history, sitting at 1st all-time in free throw percentage, 15th all-time in made three-point field goals and 10th all-time in three-point percentage, totaling over 17,300 points in his lengthy career.

As a scorer, Nash had four seasons where he shot better than 50% from the field, 40% from three and 90% from the free throw line, more than twice as many as any other player in NBA history, and if you were to drop each of those numbers by 1%, Nash would tally eight seasons of the ridiculous production.

However, when the question comes up of who the best shooter in NBA history is, the names included are typically Reggie Miller, Ray Allen and more recently, Stephen Curry. Nash absolutely deserves to be included in there, having shot better than 40% from three 14 times, something none of the others have come close to doing.

Additionally, Nash had one year where he shot 47.0% from three, which at least 1.5% higher than any season from Miller, Allen or Curry, and really it seems that the only reason people discredit his shot is because they remember him more as a passer. However, as you’ll see as you read on (and if you’re a Suns’ fan, as you probably already know), Nash could absolutely score when needed, breaking out with multiple 40-point performances in his career, despite the pass-first point guard label.

Overall, Nash was an eight-time All Star, making three appearances on the All-NBA First Team and four appearances on the All-NBA Second and Third Teams. Nash led the NBA in assists five times, while winning the NBA Skills Competition two times: Certainly not too shabby for the 15th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.

So who’s up for a little reminiscing?

Next: Honorable Mention