Steve Nash Shares Funny Story About Steph Curry Influencing His Retirement
Steve Nash, the Suns legend, recalls how Steph Curry's performance made him realize it was time to retire. After 16 seasons, Nash spent his final two years with the Lakers, where the physical demands began to weigh on him.
Preseason Game that Changed Everything
Nash described a 2013 preseason game between the Lakers and Warriors, played in Ontario, California. He said on Mind the Game:
“We went to play these guys preseason in like Ontario, California, or somewhere. I think they put up like 50 in the first quarter. Maybe it was 45, but it felt like a 50-piece, right? I couldn’t have probably stopped him even if I were 100 percent. And now I’m like dragging around Steve Kerr putting me in every action. I’m looking over at Steve like c’mon Stevie. Alvin Gentry over there laughing at me like, ‘No, let’s see what you got.’ I’m like, man, literally like three, four more days of thinking on it, I was like ‘Yeah, I think it’s time [to retire]. I called Mitch Kupchak.”
Nash’s Reflection on Retirement
He added that accepting retirement was difficult to discuss publicly, but necessary.
“You deserve a little bit of putting me out to pasture, a little bit of my retirement. It’s not something I like to talk about in public a lot. When he came into the league, I still felt like the big brother a little bit, I still feel like I’ve got the upper hand here.”
Summary
Ultimately, the game against Curry was the clear signal to Nash that it was time to step away from professional basketball.
Author’s summary: Steve Nash humorously shares how Steph Curry's dominant preseason performance convinced him it was finally time to retire after a long and successful career.