Steve Nash Biography

Steve Nash was born Stephen John Nash on 7 February 1974, in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was brought up in Canada, after his family moved there permanently. As a child, he played soccer and ice hockey. When he grew up, he became passionate about basketball.

He attended ‘Mount Douglas Secondary School’ in Saanich, British Columbia, but later joined ‘St. Michaels University School’ where he participated in basketball, soccer, and rugby. In the final year of his school, he led his school team to victory in the British Columbia AAA provincial championship.

He went to ‘Santa Clara University,’ and played for his college in the NCAA tournament, where he was the first freshman to be named the ‘Most Valuable Player.’ In 1996, after graduation, he was selected by the ‘Phoenix Suns’ during the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft.

He played with the ‘Phoenix Suns’ for two years. After the 1998 NBA Draft, he went on to join the ‘Dallas Mavericks.’

During his first year with the ‘Dallas Mavericks,’ he played 40 games with an average of 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. During the 2000-01 season, his average was 15.6 points and 7.3 assists per game.

The season 2001-02 proved to be fruitful for him during which, he averaged 17.9 points and 7.7 assists per game. He continued his brilliant performance in the 2002-03 season with an average of 17.7 points and 7.3 assists per game.

For a brief period, his performance went down a little. Nash, who was a free agent after the 2003–04 season, signed with the ‘Phoenix Suns’ once again for the 2004–05 seasons.

In the 2006-07 season, he bounced back with an outstanding average of 18.6 points and 11.6 assists per game. He continued to play well for the ‘Suns.’ During the 2009-10 season, the ‘Suns’ was the highest scoring team.

On 11 July 2012, he was acquired by the ‘Los Angeles Lakers.’ During the 2012-13 season, he led his team to victory three times, despite a leg injury.

Nash announced in July 2014 that the 2014–15 season would be his last. On 23 October, less than a week before the start of the 19th year for Nash in the NBA, he was ruled out for the season due to a recurring back injury.

On 21 March 2015, Nash announced his retirement from playing. The same year, it was confirmed that Nash would take on part-time consulting duties for the ‘Golden State Warriors.’

Nash landed the role of a senior advisor and was succeeded as general manager by Rowan Barrett, his former national teammate, on 5 March 2019.

In 1993, Nash played for the Canadian national basketball team and won a bronze medal at the ‘Canada Games’ and a silver medal at the ‘World University Games.’

In the 2004-05 season, Nash became the first Canadian to receive the ‘National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player’ for being the best performer of that season.

In 2007, he was honored with the ‘Order of Canada,’ the highest civilian honor in Canada. He was also inducted into the ‘Canada's Walk of Fame’ in 2008.

Nash was inducted into the ‘Basketball Hall of Fame’ on 7 September 2018.

The couple also has a son. On the day of his son’s birth in 2010, the basketball player announced his separation from his wife.

Nash got married to Lilla Frederick, a former ‘Pepperdine University’ and junior women's U.S. team volleyball player, in September 2016. The following year, she gave birth to their son named Luca Sun Nash.

Nash has a younger brother named Martin Nash, who is a former soccer player. His sister Joann also plays soccer.

Nash is the founder of the ‘Steve Nash Foundation,’ a charitable organization for children. Apart from this, he is also involved with ‘GuluWalk,’ a non-profit organization that raises funds for the war-affected children of northern Uganda.

Though this impressive Canadian former professional basketball player is 6 feet 3 inches tall, he was considered short for the sport.

This famous Canadian basketball player co-directed a documentary on amputee runner Terry Fox. Titled ‘Into the Wind,’ the documentary was featured at the ‘Toronto International Film Festival.’