It's official: Steve Nash has played his last professional basketball game. The future Hall of Fame point guard, two-time MVP and four-time member of the 50-40-90 club announced his retirement in a first-person letter for The Players' Tribune on Saturday.
I’m retiring.
I heard someone once say there comes a day when they tell us all that we can’t play anymore. We’re not good enough. Surplus to requirements. Too slow, maybe. When you’re a teenager with outsized dreams and a growing obsession, and someone tells you this ain’t gonna last forever, it’s scary. I never forgot it.
So what did I do? Stayed obsessed. Set goals. Worked. Dreamed. Schemed. Pushed myself beyond what was normal or expected. I looked at my hero, Isiah Thomas, and thought to myself, “OK, I’m nowhere near the player he is but if I get better every day for 5 or 10 years, why can’t I be as good as him?”
…
I will likely never play basketball again. It’s bittersweet. I already miss the game deeply, but I’m also really excited to learn to do something else. This letter is for anyone who’s taken note of my career. At the heart of this letter, I’m speaking to kids everywhere who have no idea what the future holds or how to take charge of their place in it. When I think of my career, I can’t help but think of the kid with his ball, falling in love. That’s still what I identify with and did so throughout my entire story.
In the piece, Nash thanks just about everybody who's helped him along the way, from Dirk Nowitzki to Robert Sacre. The 41-year-old's career obviously didn't end the way he wanted to -- he wrote, "When I signed with the Lakers, I had big dreams of lifting the fans up and lighting this city on fire" -- but he accomplished much more on the court than anyone thought possible. Nash started his NBA career as a fourth-string point guard in Phoenix, became an All-Star when the Suns traded him away, then established himself as one of the greatest to ever play his position when he returned.
Let's let the great Bill Walton put things in perspective. The Hall of Famer was asked about Nash's career ending back in November, and he didn't even let the reporter finish asking the question.
"Don't pronounce him dead," Walton said. "Because Steve is just getting started. And ultimately Steve will be one of those rare people who will be better in his post-playing life and career than he ever was as a player. And as a player, he was unparalleled, he was unmatched and he was just fantastic. I love Steve Nash.
"Be happy for him," he continued. "Be proud of him, encourage him and support him and thank him for what he's done to make our world a better place on and off the court."
