You hear all the time that it’s the Golden Age of point guards in the NBA, and it’s a position that has undergone such a dramatic transformation in recent years that it almost defies description. It’s such that there are very few of what were once considered “pure” point guards remaining.
Superstars like Chris Paul and John Wall, for instance, represent what is, if not necessarily a dying breed, then a perpetually evolving one. Retired two-time MVP Steve Nash will likely go down as one of the best old-school point guards of all-time, yet he and the Phoenix Suns of the mid-2000s anticipated, and in some ways helped pioneer, how the game is played today with its emphasis on pace, ball movement, and three-point shooting.
Nash spoke to DIME recently about how the “Seven Seconds or Less” Suns ushered in a new era in the NBA, how he feels about Shaq saying he should’ve won his MVPs, what to do about resting players, and more.
Tell us about the Allstate NABC Good Works project?
This is really exciting for me to come back to Arizona and be a part of this. The NABC Good Works team is just phenomenal. Allstate has done an amazing job of recognizing 10 college basketball players who are having an impact on their community. Some of them are just working tirelessly to have an effect on their cause, and others are actually creating platforms that can create change and affect people, so tremendous group to be involved with, and we’re going to have some clinics for the Special Olympics of Arizona and hopefully set a great example for a lot of young people out there so they can do the same.
You look at what your former coach Mike D’Antoni is doing with the Rockets right now and just around the league in general, the speed at which the game is played, the emphasis on ball movement and three-point shooting, is it vindicating for you that you and the 7SOL Suns were sort of the pioneers of what the NBA is trending toward, especially after the criticism?
I don’t know about vindicating because I’ve never really needed it. We played the best way that we could play to be successful, really the way our team needed to play for our pieces to be the best they could be, so I don’t need vindication, but I would say for sure that I’m proud to have had an impact on the game, and moreso for just Mike D’Antoni and his success with the Rockets, it kind of validates what a tremendous coach he is and the impact he’s had on the game.
This is one of the tightest MVP Races in recent memory. Russ has been historic. Harden is doing incredible things. As a two-time MVP, how do you feel about the idea of splitting the award? Would that have diminished it for you if you had to share it with another player?
No, I don’t think so. I mean, I think it would be an honor to share it, but I know these things are difficult, and once you let the cat out of the bag, maybe there’s no going back. So I wouldn’t say that they should do one or the other, but it wouldn’t have diminished it for me.
Shaq said again last week that he thinks he deserves one or both of your MVP awards. Do you have any response to that?
Not really. I mean, I think he’s welcome to his opinion. You know, a lot of opinions voted for me to be MVP, so I feel secure in the fact that I happened to win. Now, who was the better player and who had a bigger career? Shaq, for sure. But in those two seasons, I think my impact on my team and the game was rewarded, and that’s all there is to it.
I don’t really care much for debating it, and I don’t look back at it at all. I’m busy enjoying my life and looking forward, and that’s just a part of my life in the past. It comes up from time to time, but it’s not something that I focus on.
Rest has been a big topic in recent weeks, and both sides have pretty valid points. Fewer minutes can help extend careers, but fans also deserve to get to see their favorite players. As someone who both had a long career and battled various injuries throughout, where do you stand on the subject?
It’s really difficult subject matter at the moment. I think that we’re in an evolution right now where in a couple of years we’ll realize that players resting is just a part of the game. I think that right now we’re going through the growing pains of that. It’s really sad and unfair that certain people don’t get to see their favorite player who they paid money to watch, but I think in the future we’re gonna realize that a player can sit any given night, and that it’s not the way it used to be, so it’ll evolve and change. I think we know so much now about the loads and the demands of playing and traveling. There’s so much pressure on an organization and a team.
Now that we know how susceptible to injuries players can be, with certain amounts of travel and exertion, you can’t take the risks at times of putting that ahead of that player’s health. I can’t completely sympathize with the fan and think that’s unfair, but I think that we’re in an evolution where it’ll become expected and known and a part of the culture of the sport as it is in other sports around the world. I think that basketball is inevitably going to catch up to that.
Do you think the league needs to step in and help with that evolution? A lot of people have talked about adjusting the schedule in certain ways. Is the NBA at least partially responsible for mitigating some of this?
I definitely think the league could help. I think they’re making strides already by shortening the preseason and lengthening the regular season so that games aren’t so bunched up. I think that’ll definitely play a part. The commissioner’s talked about taking other measures. We’re all different, and sometimes the players are fatigued.
No matter what the schedule looks like and even if a player has had what seems like enough rest from the outside, if that player is in a situation where they’re putting themselves into a position to more likely get injured, there still needs to be the freedom of the player and the club to say, this is a game you should sit. Having said that, it’s definitely something that can be impacted by the league, and if I’m not mistaken, I think they’re starting by elongating the amount of days of the season.
Who are your favorite players to watch?
Love Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, for sure. But I also love a lot of these young players. I love Giannis [Antetokounmpo], [Joel] Embiid, and [Kristaps] Porzingis. I think there’s so many great players out there. Kyrie [Irving]. It’s incredible to see how many great players are in our league right now.
Your production company, Meathawk, has done a lot of interesting stuff in the past. What’s on the horizon for that?
We’re working on a lot of different things through new media, film and television. It’s been exciting. I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s anything to announce at the moment, but a lot of stuff that we’re developing and producing and working on, we’re just in an exciting position where the company can kind of grow into something bigger, so just really enjoying it. That’s where I put most of my time, besides being a dad. I really enjoy it.
