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Steve Nash - 2 Time MVP, Worthy Hall of Famer? May 7, 2006 by Tim Adams Steve Nash, in winning his second MVP award, has become only the tenth player to win multiple Podoloff Trophies, and just the seventh to win in consecutive seasons. The other multiple MVP winners are Tim Duncan ('02, '03), Karl Malone ('97 and '99), Michael Jordan ('88, '91, '96, '98), Magic Johnson ('87, '89, '90), Larry Bird ('84, '85, '86), Moses Malone ('79, '82, '83) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ('71, '72, '74, '76, '77, '80), Wilt Chamberlain ('60, '66, '67, '68), Bill Russell ('58, '61, '62, '63, '65) and Bob Pettit ('56, '58). What's interesting to note is that every NBA MVP award winner who is eligible, is in the Hall of Fame. Is Steve Nash, a two time winner no less, worthy of HoF consideration based on his career? Nash's career numbers don't exactly scream out Hall of Fame, and at 32 years of age, he's no spring chicken either. Nash is already battling debilitating back pain, and might not be too far removed from retirement. At this point (through the 2005-06 reg. season) Nash hasn't yet scored his 10,000th career point. For comparison, Rod Strickland (a very good point guard but by no means an HoFer) put up 14,463 points, although he had the advantage of playing 17 seasons. Nash currently holds a career average of 13.5 points per game. Andre Miller (another very good point), through seven seasons is averaging 14.2 points per game. Nash is a point guard, so of course what counts is assists. Nash currently ranks 19th on the assists per game list (7.12) just below a guy named Strickland, and four spots below Miller. His 5,006 career assists place him 45th on the all-time list, right behind guys like Kenny Anderson and Sleepy Floyd. So Nash's numbers don't look too impressive, but in his defense he did have to spend the first two years of his NBA career in Phoenix playing third fiddle to Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd, hardly getting off the bench. Also, Nash's numbers are only getting better as he gets older. He's had his best assist numbers since turning 30 with three straight seasons of double digit assist averages, and this past season (21ppg) shows he not only can still score, but as well as he ever has. The question is wether or not Nash can stick around for a few more productive years. It's unlikely Nash will have the longevity of John Stockton or even Strickland. Two or three more seasons of 7-9 apg and 15-18 ppg, which isn't too hard to imagine, would give Nash's credentials a nice boost. There have been other HoFers who got in with a huge boost from MVP honors despite subpar career numbers. Bill Walton would be a prime example. Walton only played 10 seasons in the NBA and only averaged 47 games per season at that. He never averaged 20 points per game and only had a career total of 6,215 points. Walton though, had a great season in 1978, was coming off a Finals MVP award with Portland and most importantly had a monster collegiate career at UCLA. Unfortunately for Nash, his career at mediocre Santa Clara isn't going to garner any HoF votes. He did help his team take out Arizona in the NCAA tournament, becoming only the second 15 seed to beat a 2 seed, but one NCAA tourney win, as special as it was, doesn't add up to much for the HoF. Unlike Walton though, Nash's career is still playing out. Nash could still guide a very competitive and young Suns team to the NBA title, and could of course add a Finals MVP to his trophy case. He could even pull off a better statistical season next year. Or he could deteriorate further and be forced to call it quits in the very near future. Steve Nash, based on history as our barometer, IS a future Hall of Famer. Will he merely ride his MVP ticket into the Hall, or will he be able to play his way into a legitimate nomination? We'll just have to watch and see!! Tim Adams
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