Steve Nash won two back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards in 2005 and 2006. Let’s take a moment and think about the players he won them over: Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. So how does a player who has never reached the NBA Finals have two MVP awards? We would have thought that the voters would have thought differently after the scrutiny they received after the 2005 MVP award. He did average over 15 points and over 10 assists per game during those two seasons, but he was probably one of the worst defensive point guards of his generation (still better than James Harden however). It’s unfortunate to say, but it is the truth that Steve Nash is one of the most undeserving MVP award winners.
Steve Nash Does Not Deserve To Be A Two-Time MVP
Since Steve Nash is a MVP award winner as a point guard, we have to look at other point guards and see why they have not won the award. John Stockton, Kevin Johnson, and Chris Paul all have better numbers than Nash in their prime but never came close to wining an MVP. This just means that Nash was rewarded for having good, but not great, numbers on a really good team. Right now we say that Denver’s defense got Peyton Manning his last championship. For those two MVP’s we can argue the Sun’s Stoudemire, Bell, Marion, and Diaw got him those awards for their stellar play at both ends of the court. The point guards I listen above were either the best player on their team or part of a dynamic duo. But mostly, those guards were great all around players who made others around them better. The exact opposite could be said for Nash since he excelled in Mike D’Antoni’s fast paced offense. If the Sun’s had a tougher point guard who could play defense, then they would have done even better in the playoffs. They did great over an 82 game stretch because other teams could not run with them. But, when Nash had to face Tony Parker and the Spurs, he stumbled miserably.
Instead of Steve Nash winning the award in 2004-2005, Shaq deserved to win the MVP. He led his team to a great record and a solid post season run by posting 23 points per game and 10 rebounds per game. There should even be a case made for Kevin Garnett! The beast in Minnesota averaged 22 points per game and 14 rebounds per game. He was, and still is, one of the best defenders in the league. During that season he averaged over 2 blocks per game to go along with 5 assists per game. Garnett and Shaq should have finished 1 and 2 in the voting by far, with Tim Duncan coming in third.
As for the 2005-2006 NBA season, Allen Iverson was the most outstanding player. He was spectacular every game he played. He averaged a ridiculous 33 points per game on a team where he was the focal point. On every play in every game, opposing teams knew Iverson was going to take the ball and try and score. But, no one could stop him. The man who crossed up the great Michael Jordan deserved the MVP award. Everyone loved watching Iverson play and it’s a shame Nash stole his award for averaging 18 points per game. I’ll say that again- Nash averaged 18 points per game and won the MVP over Allen Iverson.
Steve Nash was a really good basketball player and definitely elevated the level of play of the Phoenix Suns. But, we can be honest and say he does not deserve two MVP awards. Many players were robbed of one because of Nash. And many point guards, past and present, are very underappreciated because of Nash. Steve Nash was someone who did well in a great system, but was also easily substitutable. His lack of defense and decent numbers do not prove to be worthy of an MVP award and he will go down as one of the most underachieving MVP’s of all-time.
