The Dallas Mavericks had one of the best duos of the early 2000s, rolling out with Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash, who would each win MVP awards later in their careers. The Mavs won 50+ games each of Nash’s last four seasons with the team, including a run to the Western Conference Finals in 2003, before Nash went back to the Phoenix Suns.
Nash had an incredible run from 2000-2011, averaging 16.6 PPG and 9.8 APG while being one of the best three-point and free-throw shooters in the NBA and guided some of the league’s best offenses. He won back-to-back MVPs in 2005 and 2006 for his role in the Seven Seconds or Less offense which revolutionized basketball. Apparently all of those accolades aren’t good enough for one publication.
Recently published a list of the most overrated NBA players of the 2000s, which included former Mavericks Jerry Stackhouse and Antoine Walker. However, the top spot was given to Steve Nash for his lack of “failure to live up to expectations.”
This is what GiveMeSport said of their selection of Steve Nash as the most overrated player: “Nash is undoubtedly among the most skilled playmakers and shooters of the 2000s. However, he was pushed to levels and expectations that he never quite lived up to. His accolades were many, but his inability to lead a team to a championship makes him the leader among players who won MVPs but have no NBA titles.”
Nash’s inability to win a championship wasn’t always his fault. In 2007, Robert Horry pushed Nash into the scorer’s table causing Suns players to leave the bench and cause key suspensions for a massive Game 5, as Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were forced to miss that game. What was a 2-2 series after Game 4, the Suns would lose in six games. Stoudemire also dealt with numerous injuries throughout the playoffs in his career which left the Suns undermanned.
While the Mavericks didn’t re-sign Nash after 2004, with Mark Cuban thinking (and later regretting) Nash wouldn’t hold up into his 30s, Nash’s legacy on the game is cemented. He made eight All-Star Games, seven All-NBA teams including three First Teams, and won two MVPs as the conductor of a revolutionary offense. He may not have had the gaudy scoring numbers as some of his counterparts but he was definitively one of the greatest players of the 2000s.
