NBA's Greatest - Steve Nash

One of my favourite players to watch and one of my childhood hero was Steve Nash. He retired at the end of last season. It was like the end of an era for some people like me to whom Nash epitomized how hard work and perseverance can go a long way and how in a big man's game the small can indeed make a big difference.

He was never a top notch athlete like so many others but agility, speed, shooting, passing and an amazing vision were his key attributes. He wasn't built like a typical NBA player, but he never did anything like a typical NBA player either. He was one of the best shooters and passers the game has ever seen and ranks for me among the top 5 of all-time.

Hats off to him for winning back to back MVP titles with a team like the Phoenix Suns whom no one could have predicted would get to the conference finals or play the way they did thanks in no small part to Nash. He became one of a few handful of players to win the league MVP as a point guard, others being Oscar Robertson, Allen Iverson and Magic Johnson, none of whom played like true point guards, the way Nash did. The reason his achievement is so special is because as a Point Guard, your first duty is to make the players around you better, which is why it is so difficult to be known for your individual accomplishments. But such was the talent of this man, that he won the award inspite of this handicap.

The seven seconds or less phenomenon or the small ball taking the basketball world by storm these days were both executed to perfection by the Suns with Nash running the show like only he can. His partnership with Amar'e Stoudemie and Mike D'Antoni will be one to remember for ages and so will their playoff win against the Lakers or the three-pointers in the dying seconds to force over time.

Steve Nash will always be remembered as a legend of the game and arguably one of the finest and definitely most stylish and the one with the most flair amongst the great PGs of his era and all time.