Valley of the Suns
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Phoenix Suns: Life After LaMarcus Aldridge

By Gerald Bourguet

May 14, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (left) hugs Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (right) talk after game five of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 104-82. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (left) hugs Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (right) talk after game five of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. The Spurs won 104-82. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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Phoenix Suns
Mar 24, 2015; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash addresses the media at the press conference to announce his retirement at the Toyota Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Happy Fourth Of July!

I don’t have to explain the stinging sensation of being a Suns fan on the Fourth of July over the last few years, but let me give it a try with a personal anecdote anyway.

Back in 2012, when the news broke that Steve Nash would be joining the Los Angeles Lakers, I was at a Fourth of July party with my girlfriend of two years and all of her family and friends. As a young sports journalist in training at the time, watching the ESPN bottom line on the TV of that living room, I was immediately well aware of three things:

  1. Nash’s departure to Phoenix’s arch-nemesis had ruined America’s birthday for me
  2. I had to write about that heartbreak as soon as possible, even if I only had a personal NBA blog at the time
  3. My girlfriend was going to be livid over what was about to happen.

I tried to be as social and cordial as possible with my hosts, and most of the guests at the party understood the impact of the moment and why it was so important for my future career to cover it.

But my soon-to-be ex-girlfriend thought it was unacceptable for me to be sitting in the middle of her family’s party, banging away on the keyboard of my laptop to publish a reactionary article in a timely manner, temporarily avoiding interaction with anyone so I could focus on an article that only my Facebook friends and Twitter followers would ever see.

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I finished the article, rejoined the party with the best fake smile I could muster and tried not to let anyone know how nauseous I felt — not just because the Steve Nash era was over, but because there was no way I could possibly explain its impact to someone who liked basketball, but didn’t live by it.

My girlfriend and I drove home in silence, but when she broke up with me the next day to bring my NBA country song full circle, I can vividly remember her using the phrase, “It’s just sports!” I had no response to that. You either agree with that statement or you don’t.

For someone who had been fascinated by the Nash’s Suns growing up and dreamed of covering the NBA one day, I didn’t agree. The gut wrenching feeling that came before getting dumped, especially since it involved the Lakers, mattered. We all knew Nash had probably played his last game for the Suns, but nobody knew it would feel like that, on a holiday, that soon.

Next: The Latest Heartbreak

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