LOS ANGELES Lakers – Alright I want to start by saying that I am a die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fan, most people don’t like that but I don’t care. I’ve been with this team through thick and thin, and never wavered. And when I write a piece for www.RantSports.com about the Lakers I always pride myself in doing my absolute best to not be a homer, and I believe I do a pretty good job with that. Now from that I would like to transition to a player who, while with the Phoenix Suns, I could not stand, Steve Nash.
Two of my close friends are insane Nash fans, they’ve followed him from team to team, and now are rooting for Nash to get his first ring with the Lakers. But I vividly remember just last season when they would both ask me about Nash, knowing that he would soon become a free-agent in the Summer of 2012, and if I would become a fan of his if he happened to land with theLakers. My immediate response was, “absolutely not, I can’t stand Nash.” Now that he’s with the Lakers though, my stance has changed, drastically.
One of the things that did irk me about Nash when he was with the Suns, and is something that I have wondered ever since he joined the Lakers, is how does he continue to play at such a high level? Nash is 38 years old, he’ll turn 39 on February 7th, and continues to put up élite point guard level numbers, averaging 12.5 points, and 10.7 assists, ( second best in the NBA), and 1.6 ahead of Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul.
So how does Nash continue to play at an élite level? Well, in my opinion, there are three different things about Nash that continue to keep him in the discussion of top 5 point guards in the NBA.
1. The effect that playing Soccer has had on Nash’ legs- Contrary to what many people think Nash was actually born in South Africa, moved to Regina, Saskatchewan when he was just 18 months old, and finally settled down in Victoria, British Columbia, where he grew up. Nash played soccer often while growing up, and did not begin playing basketball until he was 12 or 13 years old. Until that time, though he was a soccer freak. Nash has also continued to merge his love for soccer into his workout routine and that in turn has resulted in Nash being extremely well-conditioned, and light on his feet.
2. Amazing Court Vision- Reason No.1 had a story behind it, the effect of Soccer has done wonders for Nash, but reason No.2 is something that Nash was most likely born with, an innate vision for the basketball court. Of course there are many things that you can do to improve your vision on the court, but the level that Nash is on is one that not many point guards have ever seen. Nash could find an open man on the floor with one arm behind his back and his eyes blindfolded. Nash is also one few point guards in the history of the NBA who can somehow read a defense, see where they are going to be, and then lead his man to an open spot on the floor, all within about 2 seconds. The likes of which haven’t been seen in the NBA since John Stockton, and Magic Johnson, (the greatest point guard of all-time).
3. Discipline- The third and last reason for Nash’ continued success is, in my opinion, the most important. Back in January Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was asked about Nash, how he has continued his success in the NBA, and if he regretted not re-signing him. “The thing about Steve is his discipline. “I knew he was discipline, but I thought he would fall apart before it mattered,’’ Cuban said. “All the advice I got from everybody we had was that he was going to fall apart. He proved us wrong — and more power to him.” Nash has certainly proved Cuban wrong and one of the main reasons why is because of Nash’ discipline to, not only to continue practicing like he’s 20 years old, but to stick to an insane workout regimen, one that some players in the NBA might not even be able to duplicate.
While I have provided three reasons, in my opinion, about why Nash is still so good the truth is that there really is no definitive answer, only educated guesses. As a Laker fan, or simply a fan of the NBA, all we can do is continue to admire the wonders of Nash while he is still in the NBA, marveling at how he continues to do so well, play basketball. Steve Nash just may be the most interesting man in the world.
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