NASH ENTERS HALL OF FAME
From St. Michaels student to NBA superstar: ‘I’m very grateful’
Steve Nash hugs a fan at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Thursday. Nash rose from playing at St. Michaels University School in Saanich to becoming a two-time MVP, eight-time All-Star in the National Basketball Association. He’ll be inducted today by Don Nelson, the coach he blossomed under while playing in Dallas for six seasons. “I’m very grateful,” Nash says.
When Steve Nash is inducted into basketball’s Naismith Hall of Fame today, his high school coach will be watching from Saanich and beaming with pride.
Ian Hyde-Lay said that he feels lucky to have played a part in the point guard’s journey.
“I’m very proud, he said Thursday from St. Michaels University School in Saanich, the same school where he coached Nash in the 1990s. “Obviously, his basketball skills and leadership skills morphed into an incredible career.”
Nash will be honoured in Springfield, Massachusetts, today in recognition of his decades-long basketball career, both in the NBA and with Canada’s men’s team.
The 44-year-old has left an indelible mark on the game, Hyde-Lay said.
“He was a driving force in basketball around the world and the way it’s played, he said.
The eight-time NBA all-star is also an easy person to like on and off the court, the coach said.
“He’s gregarious, he’s humble, Hyde-Lay said. “I just think he’s a quality person, over and above the basketball.”
After playing for Hyde-Lay in high school, Nash suited up for Santa Clara University where he was named West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 1995 and 1996. He was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 1996 and went on to play 1,217 regular-season games and 120 playoff matches with the Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers.
Nash averaged 14.3 points, 8.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds a game in his regular-season career. He was named league MVP twice, and by the time he retired in 2015, Nash had put up 10,335 assists, ranking third alltime in the NBA.
“Nobody would have predicted that, Hyde-Lay said. “But what was obvious off the bat was that he was ahead of his time.”
Even as a teenager, Nash was exceptionally skilled and willing to put in tremendous amounts of work in order to move on from one level to the next, his former coach said. Hyde-Lay remembers watching the budding star play in Grade 9.
“[Nash] just made a couple of plays with vision and skill that just took your breath away, he said. “I just sat back and thought ‘Wow. I couldn’t believe a 14-year-old boy could do that.’ ”
At six-foot-three, Nash was known during his time in the NBA for his athleticism and stunning passes.
Hyde-Lay said Nash pushed the pace of the game through passing and three-point shots, transforming basketball from a slow, physical slog into a rapid, entertaining spectacle.
“Now basically every team plays some version of that game,” Hyde-Lay said.
Nash joins fellow Canadians James Naismith (inventor, 1959), Ernest C. Quigley (official, 1961), Peter F. (Pete) Newell (coach, 1979) and Robert J. (Bobby) Houbregs (player, 1987) as Hall of Fame inductees.