Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 24 – Steve Nash

Career: 1996 – 2014

Achievements: Two-time MVP; All-NBA (7x); All-Star (8x); Five-time assists leader; third all-time in assists

A handful of players throughout NBA history have revolutionized offensive basketball. Most recently Stephen Curry unlocked entire swaths of the court by shooting from 25 feet out or further. Before him, the league changed when Steve Nash ran the “8 seconds or less” offense with the Phoenix Suns.

The offense, constructed by Mike D’Antoni and executed by Nash, opened up the throttle and leaned into transition opportunities, which everyone knew were high value, but also semi-transition when there were still advantages to be found. They almost exclusively ran high pick-and-rolls, and Nash’s combination of passing and shooting surrounded by three floor-spacers and one vertical spacer in Amar’e Stoudemire created basketball perfection.

Nash was an excellent passer, but he is not praised enough for his accurate shooting and scoring touch inside. His shooting opened up his passing because teams had to make sure he didn’t pull up from outside. In 10 seasons with the Suns, he shot 43.5 percent from deep. The only real problem was that he didn’t shoot enough.

Nash led the league in assists five times ins evens seasons, including both of his MVP years. The Suns had a top-2 offense for six straight seasons with Nash at the helm, even if injuries, brawls and crazy opponent shots kept them out of the NBA Finals. He was an excellent player, and if he entered the league a decade later he would have averaged some insane numbers.