Los Angeles Lakers: Did ESPN’s all-time NBA ranking get it right?
By Amaar Burton
Steve Nash
ESPN rank: 30
It doesn’t make sense how Steve Nash became the most underrated multi-time MVP of the NBA’s modern era.
Nash was a media darling and fan favorite in his prime, which included back-to-back MVP honors in 2005 and 2006. Marketable, relatable, humbly charismatic and fun to watch, Nash was the closest thing the NBA had to Larry Bird since the early-1990s, with a dash of Magic Johnson thrown in for entertainment value.
With all of that going for him, you’d think Nash would be historically overrated, if anything.
As it stands, ESPN has Nash as its lowest-ranked multi-time MVP winner (No. 30) among modern-era players.
Two-time MVP Bob Pettit (1956, 1959) is ranked No. 38. George Mikan didn’t win multiple MVPs only because the award didn’t exist in the NBA until his last year in the league (same reason Bill Russell doesn’t have any Finals MVP trophies), but he also deserves a mention. Mikan is ranked No. 34.
Among players from the modern era, the lowest-ranked player above Nash is Moses Malone at No. 18. Karl Malone is 17th and Stephen Curry is 13th. The rest of the eight multi-time MVPs are all in ESPN’s top 10.
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Nash’s lower spot may be due to the ongoing debate over the legitimacy of his MVP awards.
A lot of people still believe Shaq should’ve won MVP over Nash in 2005, and Kobe should’ve won it over Nash in 2006. Nash wasn’t a big-time scorer like most winners — he averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 assists per game in his first MVP season, and 18.8 points and 10.5 assists the next year. His defense was a weakness, and as much as he helped the Phoenix Suns improve upon his arrival, they often weren’t taken seriously as championship contenders.
Still, it wouldn’t be a stretch to put Nash in the all-time top 25. Along with the MVPs, he led the league in assists five times, earned seven All-NBA nods and eight All-Star nods.
Following his run with the Suns, Nash signed with the Lakers in 2012, but injuries caught up to him and he spent two abbreviated seasons with L.A. before retiring.