Sun legend Nash rising again in Phoenix
Canadian star will have his No. 13 added to Suns’ Ring of Honor on Friday
The impact Steve Nash has had on basketball in Canada is an oft- and well-told story, his decade or so of service as a player inspired many, his return as the managing director of the senior men’s team has infused the program with enthusiasm and serves as a guiding light for its future.
But it will be his contribution to the greater game that will be celebrated Friday night in Phoenix and is a much larger piece of the global puzzle.
As a part and pioneer of the one truly revolutionary style of play over the last quarter century, Nash will have his iconic No. 13 Suns number added to the franchise’s Ring of Honor, the 14th player in franchise history to be accorded the honour.
To say the two-time Most Valuable Player was instrumental in a sea change in how the game is played is an understatement.
Guided by experimental coach Mike D’Antoni, Nash and the Suns played at a frenetic pace, their reliance on multiple pick-and-rolls was the precursor to the pace-and-space style so in vogue today and even if they never won a Western Conference championship, their style altered the thinking of coaches around the NBA.
And at the helm was Nash, the sixfoot-three choreographer whose creativity with the ball was the envy of point guards everywhere.
“No question about that,” Raptors guard Cory Joseph said this week. “He was what you call a true point guard, unselfish, super-unselfish and that’s how he is as a person as well. “I’m so happy for him.” It’s virtually impossible for any basketball fan not to share Joseph’s sentiments. Nash was never the most athletic player on the court, he rose to greatness through sheer hard work and a mind that seemed a step ahead of everyone else in the game.
In 744 games in two stints with the Suns, he averaged 14.3 points and 9.4 rebounds a game and left the franchise as its all-time leader in assists, three-point field goals made and free-throw percentage. He shot 90 per cent from the foul line, 44 per cent from three-point range and 50 per cent from the floor overall.
His legacy will be that he made himself into a Hall of Fame player through hard work, dedication and creativity. He may have been the right guy at the right time to implement D’Antoni’s revolutionary style but only because he worked himself into that role.
“Kids my age and even younger grew up watching him winning two MVPs, watching how hard he worked and I was able to see it the last couple of years when I was in the NBA with him and he was still play- ing,” Joseph said. “I saw how hard he worked just to get back on the court, the work ethic that he has and the mentality.”
WELCOME BACK
We know that the Marcus Stroman story around these parts was inspirational, ace blows out his knee at spring training and returns against all odds to pitch in a pennant race and the playoffs. Stroman? Meet Wesley Matthews. About seven months after ripping his Achilles tendon, about a year-long and career-threatening injury in some cases, Matthews was in the starting lineup for the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, logging 26 minutes as the Mavs beat up the Phoenix Suns.
HEADING BACK?
Could the Canadian men’s team be headed back to Mexico in a last-gasp chance to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics? There is a chance, because Mexico is the only federation in North, South or Central America bidding to host one of three six-team tournaments next July. The others? Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Italy, Philippines, Serbia and Turkey.
FIBA will decide on the sites in mid-November.
HONOURING FLIP
The sudden loss of an NBA lifer in 60-year-old Flip Saunders will not go unnoticed during the regular season.
NBA coaches across the league will wear commemorative lapel pins for the entire season and the Minnesota Timberwolves will have patches on the uniforms with Saunders’s first name. Saunders died Sunday after a short battle with cancer.
A LONG, LONG TIME
Kobe Bryant is back from injury for what some think might be the last season for the 36-year-old. Bryant’s longevity has been truly remarkable as well as historic. He’ll be starting his 20th season with Lakers, the most ever for one player with one team.
IN REVIEW
The NBA hopes to speed up its video review process this season by employing actual referees in its New Jersey replay centre who will — hopefully — make instantaneous calls they will relay to the officials in arenas. There will be some occasions that will be handle in-house but the majority will be dealt with by off-site officials. And as part of the league’s attempt at transparency in officiating, it provides each morning the names of the officials who are working solely on video review.
OVER-QUALIFIED?
Talk about punching above your weight class. The Montana State women’s basketball team landed a whopper of an assistant this week when legendary Utah Jazz guard John Stockton agreed to join the staff as an assistant coach. The 53-yearold Stockton has a vested interest in the team since his daughter, Lindsay, is a member of the team and he became intrigued watching the team from afar for the last three years.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Remember when arenas were simply known as the Garden or the Stadium or the Gardens or the Arena? Those days are long gone and they seem to change names with alarming regularity.
So this season, if you see the Utah Jazz at home, they aren’t playing int the Delta Center or the Energy Solutions Arena, they’ll be in the Vivint Smart Home Arena. Not as good a name as the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento or the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, but still unique.
STOCKING UP
Got your D-League mock draft ready to go? Maybe not. But for fans of the Raptors 905 and any of the other minor league franchises, the draft of free agent players takes place Saturday and training camps open Monday. The new Mississauga-based Raptors affiliate has the 11th selection among 19 teams unless GM Dan Tol-zan swings a draft-day deal. None of the Raptors training camp invitees are in the draft, they will be assigned to teams if they sign D-League contracts.