Menu

Steve Nash

Drafted #15 in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Suns
Height: 6'3" (191 cm)
Weight: 187 lbs (85 kg)
Position: PG
High School: St Michaels University School - Senior (British Columbia)
Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa
College: Santa Clara
Current Team:

Articles

NBA Scouting Reports, Pacific Division (Part Four)

Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Aug 20, 2008, 09:47 pm
Overview: Arguably one of the League’s best two or three point guards, but almost certainly its best distributor. Has good size and average strength for pure point guard. Not incredibly explosive. Has an extremely deceptive first step. Able to stop and change directions on a dime. Possesses unbelievable balance and body control. Just as fast in the fourth quarter as he is in the first. Not going to play above the rim, but it doesn’t hurt him in the least. Probably the game’s craftiest and most intelligent point guard. Makes life very easy for his teammates. Will create his own offense consistently as well. Provides almost nothing defensively. Had a nice four year career and Santa Clara, but needed two seasons to emerge as a dominant player. Won the West Coast Conference Player of the Year Award as a junior and senior. Wasn’t an overnight success in the NBA. Spent two decent seasons with Phoenix before leaving for Dallas where he blossomed into a superstar. Found himself the perfect offense for his skills in Phoenix. Six time All-Star. Two time MVP. Extremely well spoken off the floor. Not very vocal and prefers to lead by example. Sets the tone for the Suns in and out of the locker room. The poster boy for how work ethic and a superior feel for the game can compensate for a lack of great natural physical tools.

Offense: The most prolific assist man in the NBA today. Does a great job setting up passing angles and deliver the ball to his teammates. Will make some fancy passes, but knows how to make them within the flow of the game. Possesses great court vision and is very good at taking what the defense gives him. Gets more than two-thirds of his touches in pick and roll situations. Has little trouble turning the corner due to his blend of tremendous quickness and ball handling ability. Shows great decision-making on the pick and roll, passing out when he gets double teamed on the trap or working the ball back into the offense off of a dribble drive. One of the best floor generals the game has ever seen. Especially gifted in transition. Always seems to be in position to get the outlet and attack. Has become a very consistent outside threat. Has always been a great shooter due to his form, but has gotten more efficient as he’s aged, to the point that he’s arguably the league’s best right now. Doesn’t have great elevation, but has a quick trigger and isn’t rattled by a hand in his face. If open, is about as automatic from beyond the arc as any player in the world. Also outstanding shooting off the dribble. Shows great footwork offensively, stepping into shots driving in either direction on the drop of a dime. Prefers to drive to his left. Will use an array of floaters and scoops from the midrange in. Capable of hitting some pretty spectacular shots. Not a great finisher due to his lack of leaping ability, but crafty nonetheless. Gets to the line at a decent rate and is lights out from the charity stripe. Has incredible shooting touch from any distance. Plays with little power, but finesse has always worked for him. Scores extremely efficiently at over 50% from the field and recently as high as 47% from beyond the arc. An extremely dominant ball-handler who is the sole catalyst of Phoenix’s offense. Everything revolves around him, which makes him among the NBA’s league leaders in turnovers per game, as well as assists. His incredible assist to turnover ratio and pure point rating clearly makes up for it.

Defense: Not a factor defensively, to the point that he’s pretty much a liability. Doesn’t have great lateral quickness or the strength to keep his man from turning the corner. Won’t get a low stance unless he knows he needs to make a stop. Does a poor job in help side, getting out of position and sagging into the paint. Isn’t a factor defending shooters due to his lack of size. Has a hard time getting through screens due to his lack of physical strength. Can get posted up by taller point guards. Tends to leak out to the receive outlet passes rather than rebounding, but still collects that at a nice clip. Lack of boxing out is by design more than an indicator of his dedication on the glass. Forces his team to make strange defensive assignments (allowing him to cover the opposing team’s worst player) to minimize his ineffectiveness on this end of the floor.

Tweets

DraftExpress Shop