For many Phoenix Suns fans, the organization’s decision to trade two-time MVP Steve Nash to the division rival Los Angeles Lakers remains part of franchise history they’d rather forget. Unfortunately for Nash, the “super team” he formed in Los Angeles didn’t deliver on championship expectations, and the Santa Clara product weighed in on the ill-fated pairing on a recent podcast.
Speaking on the “Mind the Game” podcast with NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James, Nash got candid about why his Lakers didn’t reach the mountaintop despite a loaded roster.
“Having been a part of a ‘super team’ with the Lakers, and coaching one in Brooklyn, you know, there’s a lot out of your control,” Nash said. “The noise, though, is that everything is in your control.”
James responded with a smile and a nod, understanding where Nash was coming from.
“Coming to play for the Lakers in 2012, you know, Kobe (Bryant) and Pau (Gasol) came off the Olympics — long summers. Dwight (Howard) came off of back surgery. I broke my leg game one or two with the Lakers, and we also tried … how do we make these pieces fit? And we tried to implement the Princeton offense, and it was probably at a time when the game was starting to be really a pace and space league, right?”
Steve Nash gives his two cents on why ‘super teams’ didn’t work out
For Nash, who was 38 years old by the time he made it to LA looking to cap his career with a championship ring, health was a major factor affecting an aging Lakers squad.
In addition to the broken leg, or perhaps even partly due to it, Nash’s ailing back needed to be closely managed during his time in Phoenix, which limited him as he neared age 40 with the Lakers.
The 2012-13 Lakers had three head coaches (Mike Brown, Bernie Bickerstaff, and recent Hall of Fame inductee Mike D’Antoni) and ultimately finished third in the Pacific Division with 45 wins. They got swept out of the Western Conference first round by the San Antonio Spurs.
The result for the 2013-14 Lakers was nothing short of abject disaster in Nash’s final year as a pro. Bryant played only six games after suffering an Achilles rupture in April 2013. Nash was limited to 15 games due to the aforementioned back problems. Pau Gasol missed 22 games, and LA’s leader in games played was ultimately wing Wesley Johnson (not a recipe for success).
The Lakers kept D’Antoni as head coach throughout that season, but the team finished a woeful 27-55 — good for last place in the division.
Things just didn't work out for Nash in Brooklyn
Nash’s time spent with a “super team” as a player didn’t pan out due to health and an offensive system that didn’t maximize his effectiveness, but it wasn’t Nash’s only experience with an NBA “super team.”
“The same when I coached in Brooklyn,” Nash said. “At our best, we were unbelievable, playing some great basketball, but our Big 3 played like … 16 games together in two-plus years.”
Nash went on to say that looking back on those experiences, the noise surrounding the formation of a “super team” gets so loud that the expectations can only follow. When things go awry due to health, team fit, or a combination of the two, those expectations don’t disappear. Instead, they just fail to be met.
Even LeBron had to work out the kinks with his own super team in Miami. The Heat reached the NBA Finals in year one with James, but didn’t take home the title until the following year.
As Nash said, there are simply a lot of factors out of any one individual’s control. The forming of said “super teams” sometimes results in championships, but that’s certainly not always the case.
As a result, Nash ultimately joined another former Suns MVP, Charles Barkley, as a player who did not win a title during his illustrious NBA career.
Add us as a preferred source on Google