Stephen John Nash, OC, OBC (born February 7 1974), blank">About Steve, stevenash.org, accessed 20 February 2008. is a _Canadian professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Canada. Brought up in a family of sportsmen, he enjoyed an outstanding high school basketball career, but garnered no attention from United States college recruiters. He was eventually recruited by Santa Clara University, and in Nash's four seasons with the Broncos, the team made three NCAA Tournament appearances. Nash was twice named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year, and he left Santa Clara as the all-time leader in assists.
Nash entered the 1996 NBA Draft and was selected as the 15th pick by the Phoenix Suns. He made a minimal impact, and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998. By his third season with the Mavericks, he was voted into his first NBA All-Star Game had earned his first All-NBA selection. Together with Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, Nash led the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals the following season. However, he became a free agent after the 2003–04 season and returned to the Phoenix Suns.
Nash was instrumental in transforming the Suns into one of the top teams of the Western Conference. He led the Suns to the Western Conference Finals in the 2004–05 season, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. He was named MVP again in the 2005–06 season, and missed out on a third consecutive MVP title to Nowitzki the next season. Named by ESPN in 2006 as the ninth greatest point guard of all time, Nash has led the league in assists and free throw percentage at various points in his career, although he has occasionally been criticised for his poor defence. He is ranked as one of the top players in league history for three point shooting, free throw shooting, total assists and assists per game.
Nash, who is married, is also heavily involved in charity and humanitarian work. In 2006, Time magazine named Nash as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. On 28 December 2007 it was announced that Nash will receive Canada's highest civilian honour, the Order Of Canada.
