Late career injuries force NBA’s Steve Nash to retire

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Stephen John Nash, better known as “Steve” was one of the best point guards in the NBA in the past decade. The 41 year-old announced this past Saturday that he is retiring from the game in a heartfelt letter to the fans. “I’m retiring” he wrote.

After nineteen seasons of elite playing, Nash has definitely earned himself a future spot in the NBA Hall of Fame. He was an elegant player that had incredible ball handling skills; he was a unique mixture or grace and explosiveness in the offense. In his illustrious career Nash was an eight time NBA All-Star and a two-time recipient of the MVP award.

Nash was a late-bloomer; his primer years came in his thirties. At 31 and 32 he won the MVP award (becoming the first Canadian player to do so) and at 33 he was the runner up for the award. He was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the amazing 1996 NBA draft. He had small impact in his first two years as a pro and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks where he managed to become one of the league’s elite point guards. He remained with the Mavericks until 2004, when he became a free agent. He returned to Phoenix Suns to play perhaps his best years.

During his stint with the Suns, he was part of a powerful team that was a constant contender for the Western Conference Championships, but collided with powerful Lakers and Spurs teams that prevented him from reaching the NBA Finals. It was at this time where he earned the MVP award twice.

In 2012, The Los Angeles Lakers were trying to build a powerhouse team that would catapult them to the NBA Championship once more. His squad united him with Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant, in what was thought would be a championship roster, but the team was not able to gel properly and Nash began to struggle with injuries, hurting the Lakers deeply.

Nash suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left leg in the 2012-2013 season. He was expected to be out for just one week, but he was then sidelined up to seven weeks. After his return, the Lakers played better basketball and managed to make it to the playoffs but a hip injury diminished Nash’s playing time considerable, and the Lakers were then swept by the Spurs in the first round.

In the 2013-2014 season, Nash played in a Laker team that continued to struggle on the Western Conference, with Dwight Howard gone to the Houston Rockets and Kobe Bryant dealing with injuries of his own. Nash, now a 40 year-old veteran had fewer playing time, but still managed to be one of the team’s leaders.

Injuries would continue to chase Nash and prevent him from recovering to a 100%, in the beginning of the 2014 season he announce that it would be his last. But, during preseason Nash began to experience chronic back pain that worsen with time. This injury kept him from playing in the current NBA season, Nash a veteran now stated that after serious consideration and thought, he decided to not risk his long-term health and retire from the game of Basketball, ending an illustrious 19 year career.

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