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Only 11 men have won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award multiple times, and the list of names reads like a who's who of the greatest players in history: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson... Steve Nash? At six-foot-three and less than 200 pounds, the most recent player to join the list is either the most unlikely winner of all or a symbol of how the game is changing.
Though the Phoenix Suns couldn't imagine life without Nash now, he wasn't exactly on the fast track to stardom during his first tour of the desert.
Partly because there was already a pretty good point guard by the name of Jason Kidd when he arrived from Santa Clara in 1996, Nash started only 11 games in his first two seasons, averaging less than 10 points and three assists a game.
Nash was traded to Dallas in the summer of 1998, and the change of scenery did wonders for his game. With Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley as his running mates, he elevated his play to All-Star levels and helped the Mavericks become a perennial playoff squad. But there was still even more success awaiting him when he agreed to go back to the Suns as a free agent in 2004.
As the maestro of coach Mike D'Antoni's fast paced offense, Nash found his true calling. Even though he's known for his savvy ballhandling and masterful passing, he's also become equally adept at shooting from beyond the arc and squirming his way to the rim for layups. Nash's averages of around 19 points and 11 assists per game - while shooting over 50 percent from the floor - were good enough to make the Suns one of the NBA's top teams and earn the Canadian his back-to-back MVP's in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
His scoring and assist numbers were even better in the first half of 2006-07. But even if Nash never wins more personal honors or leads his team to a championship, his rookie cards remain almost criminally undervalued. His 1996-97 Topps Chrome # 182 lags behind players like Jermaine O'Neal and Ray Allen; his Hoops # 304 is priced lower than Ben Wallace. Until the market realizes the enormity of his accomplishments, the unassuming Nash will continue to be one of the best bargains in basketball along with one of the best players.
Steve Nash 1996-97 Rookie Cards
- Bowman's Best # R18
- Collector's Choice # 310
- Finest # 75
- Fleer # 239
- Hoops # 304
- Metal # 138
- SkyBox Premium # 91
- SP # 142
- Topps # 182
- Topps Chrome # 182
- UD3 # 15
- Ultra # 87
- Upper Deck # 280
- Z-Force # 158
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