Nash wins 2nd MVP
By Joe Doss-Antoun
Bronco alum Steve Nash became the eleventh player in history to be honored as the NBA's Most Valuable Player multiple times, and only the ninth player in history to win the award in consecutive seasons.
The only other active player to have won the award in consecutive seasons is Tim Duncan.
Nash received 57 first-place votes and 924 overall points from a panel of 125 sports writers and broadcasters in the United States and Canada. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers finished in second place, picking up 16 first-place votes and finishing with 688 total points. Power forward Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks was third with 14 first-place ballots and 544 points. Kobe Bryant rounded out the top four.
With the display of leadership and the dynamic energy provided by Nash, the Suns won the Pacific division and are a favorite to reach the Western Conference Finals.
At his press conference when it was announced that Nash was voted as the MVP, he was quoted as saying, "I have to pinch myself. I can't believe I'm standing here today. I couldn't believe it last year, and to do it again is even more difficult to understand -- but I'm not going to give it back."
This season, Nash put on arguably his best show. He scored 18.8 points per game and topped that with a league-leading 10.5 assists per game. Perhaps the main reason that Nash repeated as the league's MVP is that he helped six of his teammates earn career highs in points per game.
The former Bronco set career highs of his own in points, rebounds, free throw percentage and field goal percentage. He is also ranked sixth in the league in three-point shooting.
"I'd like to think he's most deserving for MVP if you like somebody who can do everything really well," said Dick Davey, men's head basketball coach, who coached Nash during his four years at Santa Clara. "It gives the school an identity. It sheds light on Santa Clara, and Steve is always more than willing to help us out, both recruiting and with general admissions."
Currently, Nash finds himself and his Suns facing the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Semifinals.
After falling behind three games to one to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, Nash willed the Suns to victory in the final three games, turning out three performances that helped justify the earning of the award.
Nash kept the Suns afloat all year, despite injuries to several key players, including Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas. He suited up 79 out of 82 games and pushed the Suns past the Lakers and Clippers in the standings.
In a year that contained multiple MVP candidates, Nash was the choice of the nation's sportswriters Now, he will try to add an NBA Finals MVP to his regular season award.
Contact Joe Doss-Antoun at (408) 551-1918 or jdossantoun@scu.edu