Post by Rog on May 8, 2016 7:47:48 GMT
The 26th nominee of the NBN Hall of Fame, Steve Nash was a maestro with the ball capable of scoring at high rates and also getting his teammates involved in the offense. Was he good enough offensively to make up for his perceived shortcomings defensively or was he just another good point guard who put up good stats but wasn't actually great. Lets take a look at the stats.
Career Stats
36.6 MPG, 22.8 PPG, 9.0 APG, 3.7 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 2.3 TOPG, 47.6% from the field, 88.9% from the line, and 43.1% from three.
Best Season: (Timberwolves 2004) - 27.7 PPG, 9.0 APG, 4.2 RPG, 2.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 2.2 TOPG, 47.7% from the field, 92.1% from the line, 44% from three.
Career Highs
Points: 57
Rebounds: 14
Assists: 22
Steals: 7
Blocks: 2
Career Achievements
Championships: 0
Player of the Game: 230
Player of the Week: 8
Player of the Month: 2
Double Doubles: 393
Triple Doubles: 7
Awards
2001 - All-Star Game Participant
2002 - All-Star Game Participant
2002 - All-League Third Team
2003 - All-Star Game Participant
2003 - All-Star Game MVP
2004 - All-Star Game Participant
2004 - All-League First Team
2007 - All-League Third Team
Arguments For Induction
- Steve Nash was named to four All-Star games and two All-League third teams and a first team.
- Nash was a dynamite scorer, scoring just under 23 points a game for his career. In fact that selling his scoring abilities a little bit short, in Nash's 8 year prime you could count on him to get you 25 points a contest, no problem. He rose up to 13th all time in scoring, a nice feat.
- Not only could Nash could in bulk, he did it with great efficiency. Minus his first and last season, Nash never shot worse than 47% from the field or 42% from three. He was just a fantastic shooter in general, hitting the 7th most threes in league history. In fact, he shot over 42% while also shooting just over 5 a game. He also was damn near automatic from the line, shooting near 90% from the line.
- Nash is among the best passers in league history. He averaged 9 assists a game and is third all time in assists. He seriously could do it all with the ball. He also did it with rare efficiency with the ball, only averaging just over 2 turnovers a game. You can seriously expect a guy with Nash's pure amounts to average 3 turnovers a game and be okay with it.
- He was a solid, if not really spectacular defender, averaging 1.6 steals a game and in his prime consistently being over 2 a game. Hard to expect anything better from a guy of Nash's offensive stature.
- Outside of one season where he only played 40 games, Nash never missed more than 11 games always being available to his team. Can't ask more from a guy who gives you the scoring and passing Nash did.
- You seriously can't expect anymore from a point guard than what Nash gave you. In his eight year prime he always gave you 25 points, 9.5 assists, almost 2 steals, shooting the ball with exception grace. The game said he was a top 3 player four seasons out of his career. Just an exceptional point guard.
Arguments Against Induction
- Once again, Nash flat out does not have enough awards. If he was so great, why only four years in a 12 year career was he considered a top three player in this league. Is that a Hall of Famer to you?
- Seriously, was he actually a good defender? The steals are okay, but seriously was he a good defender? No awards in that category and he just doesn't seem like the type of player to be a true lock down defender.
- Never won a title and was he ever really close to one? Timberwolves have never been a dynamite franchise and the Jazz are always solid, but their big run to the finals happened after Nash was no longer with the team. Is that indicative of the player Nash was? I don't know I'd say that but you can't really call him a winner can you?
- Exceptionally weak on the boards, only averaging 3.7 rebounds for his career, even at point guard you really do want more than that.
- There is a case to be made for Nash, but it just appears short to me. Low on awards, only really has assists as a high watermark, and even that you can argue wasn't special, he just played long enough to place high on the list. He was a good, but not amazing scorer. Shot the ball well, but probably should have shot it more. Didn't stand out as a defender. Never led a team to a title. Just not enough here to be remembered as the best of the best is there?
Vote carefully, and remember to throw out arguments regardless of which side you're on. This should be a discussion that eventually gets the league to the proper decision on him. Your vote can also be retracted after it's been cast if you feel like switching to the other side based on the arguments that have been made. To be inducted, a player needs 70% and to be considered in a later class they need 50%. Vote carefully!
***BONUS - Don't forget that everyone who votes gets $25 and the person that makes the best argument or contributes to the discussion the best will be awarded an extra $25***
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