Ranking the 30 best NBA seasons from players over 35 years old
66. . PG. Phoenix Suns. Steve Nash. 20. player
The 30 best NBA seasons from players over 35 years old — 20. Steve Nash, 2009-10 (35)
Steve Nash is one of many players who saw injuries cut their careers short, but thankfully for Nash and his fans he was able to delay that ending until he was in his very late 30s. One of the greatest playmakers in the history of the league, Nash combined elite shooting ability with a selfless game to orchestrate some of the greatest offenses we have ever seen.
In 2009-10 Nash, now 35, continued his conducting for a Suns team that won 54 games and made the postseason despite an eroding core of players. Nash was spectacular with the ball in his hands, leading the league with 11 assists per game with a shooting percentage of 50.7 from the field, 42.6 from 3-point range, and a league-best 93.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Only LeBron James and Kevin Durant finished with more offensive win shares than Nash that season, and only those two plus Dwyane Wade had a better offensive box plus/minus. Amongst a forest of big men, including his teammate Amar’e Stoudemire, Nash finished fourth in the league with a 61.5 percent true shooting percentage.
This was the tail-end of the Suns’ run of postseason berths and “7 Seconds or Less” magic. That offseason Stoudemire would sign with the New York Knicks. But for one last year at age 35, Nash made sweet, up-tempo music in the desert. The Suns overcame Portland and old foe San Antonio before losing a hard-fought series with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, the eventual champions. It was a fitting end of an era, if not the technical period, and it highlighted the offensive brilliance of Steve Nash.