Apr. 25, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Steve Nash is one the greatest Sun of all time, maybe behind Charles Barkley in terms of stardom but in terms of popularity  Nash trumps sir Charles. Since he’s arguably the greatest Sun ever and it’s only appropriate that we dedicate a couple more articles to this guy before he comes into the valley on January 30^th 2013 in enemy purple and gold.

One thing people always slam Nash for, his defense. HE’S A TERRIBLE DEFENDER, HE’S NOT ATHLETIC, HE NEVER WON A RING, HE DIDN’T DESERVE HIS TWO MVP AWARDS. It just upsets me when I hear these things, because I’m a die-hard Suns fan who grew up in New York; I love Steve Nash, I love the Suns. You want to call Nash a bad defender because he can’t guard the Russell Westbrooks of the world? You name me 3 players who can shut down a guy like Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook. Basketball is a team game, Steve Nash throughout his career has never had a good defending big behind him; for heaven sake the closest thing he ever got to a good defending big was a 36 year old Shaquille O’Neal.

People claim Nash isn’t athletic, what 37 year old with a chronic back problem can do this? Any true basketball fan knows that skill lasts longer athleticism. Nash gets to where ever he wants on the floor at any given time. If a basketball player is capable of doing that, why does he need athleticism? Not to mention Steve Nash broke the 50/40/90 mark 4 times(Highest of mark of all time), which means he can score and do it efficiently, any more questions?

Nash never won a ring which is probably the best argument about his greatness, but most of us Suns fans know that we just ran into some god awful luck in the playoffs during Nash’s golden years. During 2004-2005 playoffs, Joe Johnson falls and breaks a bone near his eye socket and misses the first two games of the Spurs series in the western conference finals; yes the Suns lost both games and went on to lose the series in 5.  In the 2005-2006 season no Amar’e? No problem. The Suns got all the way to western conference finals again, but guess what? It was Raja Bell this time that missed game 2 & 3 due to injury after a game 1 win; the Suns lost both of those games because they literally were playing about 6 players due to lack of depth. Then finally the western conference semi-finals, the Suns vs Spurs series of 2007, big shot Rob checks Nash into the scorer’s table which ultimately lead to the suspension of Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for game 5 back in Phoenix with the series tied 2-2. The Suns went on to lose that game and lost a pivotal he series in 6. How about the most recent playoff run? Back in 2010 when the Suns got all the way the west finals and the all famous Ron Artest put back at the buzzer at the end of game 5 with the series tied 2-2 which was nothing short of miraculous. Not to mention it was an obvious over the back foul as he just shoved Jason Richardson out of the way.

Feb. 19, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash (13) puts up a shot against Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE.

Now this is the one that really ticks me off, when people say Steve Nash didn’t deserve his two MVPs? This guy turned a 29 win team into a 62 win team, leading the league in assists as well as posting great shooting numbers that were nothing short of legendary. The following year people claimed that Shaq should of won the MVP award and not Nash. Okay fair argument  but how many teams will remain to win 54 games despite losing their leading scorer and rebounder for the entire season? During that 2005-2006 season Steve Nash along with Shawn Marion carried that team! Nash and D’Antoni made Boris Diaw into the player he was, after Diaw left Phoenix you all haven’t heard much about him have you? Exactly!

Steve Nash is without a doubt one of the top 10 greatest point guards ever and the most popular Sun of all time. It’s a shame that people outside of Suns fans don’t truly appreciate this guy’s talent, class and competitive spirit. Laker fans are lucky to have that guy wear their jersey for the next three years maybe Laker fans will understand what a truly special player Steve Nash is. The Steve Nash era is finally over but the foot prints he left on the Suns organizations will never be washed away.

Jan. 5, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard (13) Steve Nash and Los Angeles Lakers guard (24) Kobe Bryant at the US Airways Center. The Lakers defeated the Suns 99-95. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Even though this a site that mainly covers the Suns, it’s too tempting at this point NOT to do a ranking of the top NBA teams since the Lakers starting line-up now consists of our SUN Steve Nash and also Dwight Howard. Top 5 teams in the NBA heading into this NBA season!!

1) Los Angeles Lakers

It’s pretty obvious why the Lakers are the best team; they have the best passer in the league, the best closer in the league, and the best defensive player in the league all in their starting five. Steve Nash often gets crap for his defense but truth is he never had a defensive presence behind him to help him when the Derrick Roses’ of the world beat him off the dribble, Steve Nash also hasn’t had a pick and roll partner like Dwight Howard since Amar’e Stoudemire. So imagine this, a Nash Howard pick and roll, a low post force of Pau Gasol and the best BAD SHOT maker in the history of the NBA, as a basketball fan it’s almost a dream come true.

2) Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are the reigning champs and with the addition of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis they are definitely up there with the Lakers however despite the great talent of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade the Heat still has zero low post presence. The Heat matched up well against the Thunders in the finals because the Thunders are a perimeter oriented team that doesn’t score a lot off post plays, and the Heat just happen to have 3 great perimeter defenders in the NBA on their team in Wade, LeBron and Battier. The Heat will definintely run into trouble next year when they play against the Lakers, because no one on the Heat team can stop Howard, not to mention a Howard that plays with Steve Nash.

3) Oklahoma City Thunders

Again the Thunders are still up there with the Lakers and Heat due to their talent, youth and athleticism. The Thunders are most athletic team the league has seen in quite some time and their ability to out jump and run the older guys certainly will prove to be one hell of an advantage. The Thunders also STOLE a top 5 talent in last year’s draft in Perry Jones who I’m confident will help them a great deal throughout the year. The Thunders also match-up pretty well against the Lakers in that they have two great defending big guys in Ibaka and Perkins who can hold their ground against the Lakers’ twin towers.

4) Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have quietly made some great moves this off-season adding Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill and Lamar Odom. The Clippers definitely improved a great deal and in my opinion can give top teams issues because of their tremendous depth; their 9 man rotation consists of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Caron Butler, DeAndre Jordan, Jamal Crawford, Chauncey Billups, Lamar Odom, Grant Hill, and Eric Bledsoe. That’s one hell of a rotation for any team and had the Lakers not added Dwight Howard I think the Clippers could’ve had a chance to steal the pacific division title. People can say that Billups is coming off injury, Hill is old, and Odom was awful last year; all true. BUT Odom never wanted to be in Dallas and he was obviously going through some issues, can you expect to be the Lamar Odom from two years ago? No but he won’t be far off neither. Grant Hill can still ball, he is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league despite his age, his mid-range game is still golden and he can still run the floor. Billups has never been a athletic jump out the gym guy, he’s always been a grinding, and shooting point guard; those tools will help him as he’s coming off injury and aging.

5) Boston Celtics

It was a tough call to put the Celtics at five but with a core of Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry the Celtics will still be a tough team out east. The Celtics still have a chance to contend depending on how well their rookies play and how well Jeff Green proves to be coming off an open heart surgery. The Celtics I would say are better, a lot better than they were last season with all the new additions they made and will definitely be a challenge for any team. Will I bet my car that they’re going to make it out of the east? No. But can they play brilliant basketball and upset the Heat? Hey, crazier things have happened.

Well there’s the top 5, I would love to put Chicago on that list but with a big giant life size question mark on Derrick Rose it’s tough to say the Bulls will contend next year. It’s going to be a great season will all the shake-ups that have happened this off-season and I don’t care who gets to the finals although I would absolutely love to see our two time MVP Stevie Nash get his first ring and if the Lakers do win a ring, Nash won’t be one those veterans who’s just along for the ride; if the Lakers do win a ring Nash will be a MAJOR part of it.