Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Nash has officially announced his retirement from the NBA today, announcing it in a post on The Player's Tribune.
Many expected this move would come after it was announced that Nash would miss the rest of the season due to ongoing back issues, but he waited until today to make it official. Nash will only have played in 65 games during the entirety of his three-year, $27 million deal he signed when he joined the Lakers in 2012.
Nash ends his career as the third-leading assist man in NBA history (10,335) and has the highest career free throw percentage ever (90.4).
The Santa Clara product was drafted 15th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, where he played for two seasons before being traded to Dallas. It was with the Mavericks that Nash started gaining notoriety around the league while being paired with Dirk Nowitzki.
After six promising seasons with the Mavs, he returned to Phoenix for the most successful stint of his career. He was named MVP for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons while leading one of the most prolific offenses in NBA history, but he was never able to make the Finals.
In fact, he's known as the best player to never play a game in the NBA Finals.
He tried to change that by joining the Suns' rival in Los Angeles, but injuries stopped him (and the team) from really accomplishing anything.
Despite his playoff failures, Nash will surely be a first ballot Hall of Famer. He found new ways to utilize the pick-and-roll, and his creative passing and up-tempo flair changed the way the NBA game is played. Nash showed how successful a point guard can be without scoring 25-30 points per game.
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