steve nash for mvp!

last night, the phoenix suns, who only won 29 games all of last year, extended their winning streak into the double digits, as miracle point guard and playmaker steve nash tied an nba record with 10 straight games with 10+ assists. note that those 10 games have all been wins for the suns, which now have the best record in the nba.

its no secret that nash has been my favorite player in the nba for quite some time now. i enjoyed his time at dallas and adopted the mavericks as "my team". having spent some time in texas, and specifically dallas, i was a bit disappointed but extremely confused when the mavs let go the heart of their team so they could pick up erick dampier. who?, you ask ... exactly.

dampier is averaging 8 points and 7 rebounds a game, and dallas is hovering at a respectable 17-10. but with dallas' talent, that record is below expectations, and nowhere near the starts that the team enjoyed with mr. nash at the helm (anyone remember the mavs' 16-0 start a few years back?). and now go back and read the first paragraph again ... the phoenix suns, who i had joked about "having to root for" now that nash was on board, are enjoying nba history's second greatest beginning to a season. what's going on?!

simple: steve nash is the heart of any team he joins, and any team will improve dramatically with him handling the ball. mark cuban's "the benefactor" was a mistake of catastrophic proportions, but i'm betting that letting nash go will end up just as horrifying for the mavericks. watch a game, watch him work the floor, watch him make things happen, and one could argue that he is the most valuable player on his team, whoever that team may be, and one could even argue that he's the mvp of the league. enter yours truly.

steve nash is, by far, the frontrunner for the nba's most valuable player. yet as i say this, i can almost hear the snickering coming from those that know me best, laughing off this ridiculous statement as another jokingly overzealous comment about my favorite player. but credible sources are starting to pay attention ...

when checking up on his latest stats, i stumbled across one of the most passionate sports op pieces i've ever read. the article not only accurately sums up the worth of steve nash, but identifies him with a time and place where basketball isn't about muscle bound ogres with extra y chromosomes or selfish bastards who can't even get along with others, let alone play with them. the article speaks of a purer sport, where the concept of team still exists, making it greater to watch, but more importantly, greater to play. steve nash exemplifies this purity more than any other player in the league; he is the rudy of today's basketball world; he proves that tenacity, vigor, and nothing short of true heart is still the formula of a champion; he is an example to future players in how his pass-first mentality makes everyone on his team a better player; he is an inspiration to all the little guys who have had the odds stacked against them, and yet they rise to the challenge and excel; quite simply, he is the hero for anyone who has ever been playing in the driveway by themselves, driven to the hole with mere seconds left on the imaginary clock, and lacking in the ability to dunk, fired up a turn around jumper and a prayer.

congratulations to the phoenix suns, currently basketball's best team. and here's to steve nash--truly, an inspiration to us all. all i want for christmas is an MVP award for the man who deserves it.


(again, here's the link to the article. read it, reflect, and join me in dreaming of a basketball revolution)