Steve Nash: Debunking the MVP Myth of America's Canadian

I (Sports) Hate Steve Nash

It’s true. I do not like Steve Nash. Sports hate has been covered in depth by the likes of Bill Simmons and Jason Whitlock. Suffice it to say that sports hate is not the equivalent of hating Nazis. It is a strong dislike of every aspect of an athlete’s game. It is how most Celtics fans feel about Kobe or (in the spirit of a story about a Canadian) how most Capitals fans feel about Sidney Crosby.

You might be wondering how somebody can actually dislike Steve Nash, he is so nice. He is like a kid out there just playing for the love of the game. He’s Canadian, making him 100 times kinder and gentler than other human beings.

Is it just me or is anyone else sick of all the Canada love out there? I get it, you have clean air, free health care and a low murder rate. Every person I have ever met from Canada is awesome. Get over yourselves already.

Just know that I am almost always right about my irrational sports hate for a universally beloved athlete. I hated Brett Favre long before it became fashionable and was wrongly accosted for that hate.

Brett Favre’s lone ranger style of offense angered me to no end. He threw into triple coverage on 3rd and long when the ball should have been chucked out of bounds and the possession forfeited. How many of those over his career do you think he’s completed? One out of five? Ten? Twenty? How many of those swayed a game after turning into a backbreaking interception? One out of five? Ten? Twenty?

My point is, Favre has always been every bit of the narcissistic, self-absorbed athlete that he is today. He cared about individual glory more than winning. Favre was a modern day Wilt Chamberlain, putting records (his inane iron man streak and Wilt’s run for the league assist record) and his ego ahead of a potential dynasty.

I can think of at least two interceptions that cost two different teams Super Bowl trips in winnable games against lesser opponents (think Packers-Giants in ‘07 and Vikings-Saints in ‘09).

He was an egomaniac long before he began sexting unwanted pictures of his dong to unsuspecting reporters.

I guess he had a little more Wilt in him than even I suspected.

The other formerly popular athlete that I always had a problem with was LeBron. He’s the most physically gifted athlete I have ever seen, yet he could care less about the game of basketball. LeBron has always been focused on LeBron’s empire. He wants the Jordan brand without the Jordan blood, sweat and tears to attain it.

People were blinded by LeBron’s raw physical tools and the occasional “48 special” type of game only he is capable of producing (2007 Eastern Conference Finals). It is a combination of sheer force running through, around, and over any physical defender the opposition can throw at him. It is the reason he had the tools to carry the garbage pickup team he was surrounded with in Cleveland to the title.

I watched an immature kid that was dubbed uncoachable in the 2004 Olympics and has shown little sign of improvement in that area. It was so bad that there were whispers to not invite Lebron back for the 2008 Olympics.

This never would have happened, but can you imagine there even being whispers about not inviting Jordan to an Olympic team? Jordan would have held a personal grudge against everyone involved for life, destroying each member of the team for 60 points a night on the way to a 75-win season the next year.

LeBron didn’t bat an eye.

The Case Against Nash

Steve Nash is a legitimately great point guard and a future Hall of Famer. I respect his toughness, his clutch shooting and his ability to quarterback a run-and-gun offense better than anyone since Magic Johnson. All of this should make me love Nash, but I cannot get past a single mind-boggling fact about his career.

Steve Nash is a BACK-TO-BACK MVP. Think about that. He is on a short list with Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (did it twice), Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James (who at least statistically dominated the league both years). Hell, Nash is only one of nine multiple MVP-winners.

Of the nine total back-to-back MVPs, five of them are the top-10 greatest players of all time. Two are in the top 30. LeBron does not have a ceiling if he ever puts it together for every round of the playoffs. Where on this list is Kobe, Shaq, Hakeem Olajuwon or Oscar Robertson?

If this were quantified by the number of hookups on the Jersey Shore, the Situation would be MJ (5), Kareem (6), or Russell (5). Pauly D would be Wilt (4), Byrd (3), or Magic (3). Vinny would be Moses (2) or LeBron (2). And Ronny would be getting bitched out by Sammy and stuck with Steve Nash (2).

Why is Steve Nash on this list? The Suns were fun to watch, scored a lot of points in an entertaining offense run by Nash, and kept winning regular season games despite devastating injuries (think Amare's microfracture). Nash is a likeable “kill myself for the team” guy that reporters fell head over heels for.

The problem: Nash couldn’t shut down anyone not named Smush Parker in a playoff series. Even those putrid Lakers teams took the Suns to seven games. He was absolutely destroyed in the playoffs in '02, '04, '07 and '08 by slightly above-average point guards (Mike Bibby) and elite point guards (Tony Parker) equally.

How does a guy that plays zero defense ever win an MVP award? The way it could happen is if that guy puts up gaudy offensive numbers against the competition that year. Even though Phoenix put up huge offensive numbers (what team wouldn’t shooting each possession within seven seconds), Steve Nash was solid, but not exemplary.

Nash averaged 15.5 pts and 11.5 assists and 18.8 pts and 10.5 assists in his MVP seasons, respectively. He played for a great offensive mind (D’antoni), with a future “MVP” candidate (Amare) and with a budding Joe Johnson for his first MVP run. When his numbers improved in the 2005-2006 season, the writers felt he had to win again (this season was a much stronger case with the whole Amare microfracture thing).

There were other deserving candidates those years. Kobe carried a team starting Smush Parker and Kwame Brown to the playoffs both years in an extremely deep West. LeBron dragged the likes of Donyell Marshall and Larry Hughes into the playoffs in the 2005-2006 season. A recently traded and highly motivated Shaquille O’Neal only made Miami relevant and turned D-Wade into the perennial All-Star he is today, culminating in the 2005-2006 NBA championship.

All three played on both sides of the ball and all three had equal or better stats.

Then, there is the system argument. In Nash’s last four years in Dallas, he averaged 15 and 7 ('00-'01), 18 and 7 ('01-'02), 17 and 7 ('02-'03), and 14 and 8 ('03-'04). When he arrived in Mike D’Antoni’s fun and gun system in Phoenix, he averaged 15 and 11 ('04-'05), 18 and 10 ('05-'06), and 18 and 11 ('06-'07).

While his scoring did not significantly improve, his assists took a large jump. This led to the inevitable argument that Nash was making everyone around him better. Can’t we make the same argument that D’Antoni’s system was making Nash and everyone else better? If a team scores more points, the point guards assists will inevitably increase.

In the first season without D’Antoni, the Suns did not make the ’09 playoffs. In its first full season under Alvin Gentry, the Suns ran a similar offense and the two-time “MVP” led them to the Western Conference Finals.

Then, there is the case of Amare Stoudamire. Everyone assumed in Phoenix that Nash made Stoudemire the perennial All-Star because he created so many open shots. Stoudemire dealt with the second-fiddle stigma every year he was in Phoenix. He took off from Phoenix and signed with the Knicks in D’Antoni’s system.

The Knicks are now headed for the playoffs and Stoudemire is a legitimate MVP candidate. Can we really say that Nash made him that much better? Isn’t it the system that makes Stoudemire a MVP candidate? Isn’t the system/likeability of Nash responsible for him winning two MVPs?

If the system can turn an egomaniac power forward who scores and does not rebound or play defense into an MVP candidate, it can turn a future Hall of Fame point guard who shoots the lights out and does not play defense into a two-time MVP.

I will never argue that Nash is not a great point guard. Revisionist history is making Nash’s MVP awards seem more plausible than they were at the time. Maybe I won’t talk you into having sports hate for Nash like I do. Then again, I could not talk anyone into feeling the same way about LeBron or Favre either.

Tom Thibodeau: Derrick Rose 'MVP Guy'

Tom Thibodeau respected Derrick Rose's ability when Thibodeau was an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. But now that he gets to watch Rose play every day as coach of the Chicago Bulls, that admiration has gone to a new level -- just like his point guard's game.

"He's having an MVP season, but he's an MVP guy," Thibodeau said Tuesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I think his leadership has been tremendous. Not only him but along with Carlos [Boozer] and Joakim [Noah] and Luol [Deng]. Your best players have to help lead your team, and all four of those guys have done that all season."


But there hasn't been much consistency with the health of Boozer and Noah. The duo has missed a combined 27 games. Boozer, signed to a five-year deal over the summer as a free agent, missed the first 15 games after breaking his hand at the start of training camp. Noah has missed the past 12 games after having hand surgery and is expected back in March.

Yet the Bulls have still managed winning records during their stints without Boozer (9-6) and Noah (8-4) and, at 25-12, are third in the Eastern Conference.

Rose, averaging 24.3 points and 8.1 assists, has been the constant, playing all but one game in his third season.

"The things that he is doing out on the court are amazing," Thibodeau said. "I think when you look at his skill set, the way he combines his athleticism, his speed, quickness, strength and now you add to it his shooting. The biggest thing is defensively he's made huge strides all season long. Just the way he's running the team; he's playing a complete game. He's doing so many things that help you win."

Thibodeau credits Rose's desire to improve as key to his development.

"I think it's his drive. He is never satisfied," Thibodeau said. "He's always trying to get better at a number of different things. And he's so humble. It's just the way he's led our team. I think when you look at all those things, he's made everyone better. I think he's reading defenses great, and he's seen a lot of different defenses.

"Teams now are trapping him, they're blitzing his pick and rolls, they're coming early to get the ball out of his hands, and he's making the right reads. He realizes when it's a loose trap and he can split it. He also knows how to make a team pay. He's making skip passes cross court. He's created easy offense for us."

Boozer and Rose have adapted to each other quickly. Boozer, averaging 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds a game, has given the Bulls the reliable low-post scorer they lacked for years. And his coach marvels at how quickly Boozer has established himself after missing so much time early in his Bulls career.

"He's been tremendous," Thibodeau said. "When you look at the things that he's done offensively -- to miss most of training camp and then the first month of the season -- and to be playing at the level he is playing at so soon, it says a lot about his ability and also his commitment. When he was out he did a ton of conditioning to come back quickly. You put him in a pick and roll with Derrick, it's tough when you have two players with the skill set that those two possess to really defend that."

The Boozer-Thibodeau relationship appeared rocky when the coach benched Boozer for the final 13 minutes, 21 seconds of a 96-94 loss to the New Jersey Nets on Jan. 5.

Thibodeau shot down speculation that he wasn't happy with Boozer's effort on defense.

"The thing about that game, it wasn't a benching of Carlos," Thibodeau said. "We were struggling. We were down 13 going into the fourth quarter. We were low energy the whole game. [The Nets] went small and the group that went out there erased the 13-point lead quickly so our bench gave us great energy. We had some matchup concerns. With Carlos, he's all about winning. Most of the time he's going to be out there for most of the fourth quarter. He knows that."