There is a version of basketball that existed before Steve Nash and a version that exists after him, and they do not look the same. The point guard from Victoria, British Columbia — overlooked by college recruiters, undrafted by imagination, armed only with a basketball mind that processed the game at a speed no one around him could match — spent eight seasons in a Phoenix Suns uniform and remade the sport in his own image. Two MVP trophies. Eight All-Star selections. A free throw percentage that remains the highest in NBA history. And an offensive system so revolutionary that its fingerprints are visible on how every team in the league plays basketball today.
The retirement of #13 at Footprint Center is not merely an acknowledgment of Nash's numbers, though the numbers alone would justify it. It is an acknowledgment that a player in a Phoenix uniform changed the way basketball is played — permanently, irrevocably, and for the better. That kind of contribution deserves a place in the rafters that no one can take down.
From Santa Clara to the Valley: The Unlikely Journey
Nash grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, where his father John had played professional soccer and where basketball was far from the dominant sport. He attended St. Michaels University School, developed a love for the game that bordered on obsession, and was almost entirely overlooked by major college programs. Santa Clara University offered him a scholarship, and Nash spent four seasons becoming one of the West Coast Conference's most decorated players — averaging 14.9 points and 6.0 assists per game while leading the Broncos to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.
Phoenix selected him 15th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft, and his first stint with the Suns from 1996 to 1998 gave him exposure to a winning culture alongside Charles Barkley in his final seasons. Nash was a promising but raw player in those early years — a sharp passer and intelligent mover who had not yet developed the complete offensive game that would make him dominant. The next chapter required a detour through Dallas.
Seven Seconds or Less: The System That Changed Everything
Six seasons with the Dallas Mavericks alongside Dirk Nowitzki transformed Nash into the complete player the Suns had drafted the potential of. In Dallas, Nash mastered the pick-and-roll at an elite level, developed into a reliable three-point shooter, and learned how to carry an offense as its primary facilitator. By 2004, he was one of the league's best point guards — and when Dallas chose not to re-sign him, Phoenix made the move that would define its franchise.
What happened next, under coach Mike D'Antoni, was unlike anything the NBA had seen. The "Seven Seconds or Less" Suns — named for D'Antoni's directive to push the ball and shoot before the shot clock reached seven seconds — were the most exciting offensive team of their era and arguably the most influential system of the modern NBA. Nash was the conductor: reading the floor before defenders could establish position, distributing the ball to Shawn Marion, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Joe Johnson with a precision that left defenses scrambling. The Suns led the league in scoring for multiple consecutive seasons. They were appointment television every night they played.
Back-to-Back MVPs: The Numbers Behind the Revolution
In 2004-05, Nash won his first NBA Most Valuable Player award, becoming only the second point guard in decades to win the award. He averaged 15.5 points, 11.5 assists, shot 50.2% from the field, 43.1% from three, and 88.7% from the free throw line. The following season, he won it again — shooting 51.2% from the field and maintaining his assist dominance while adding scoring efficiency that redefined what was possible from the point guard position.
His career free throw percentage of 90.43% is the highest in NBA history — a mark that may stand forever. His ability to lead the league in assists while shooting at those percentages remains unprecedented. Nash did not just facilitate his team's offense; he personally scored efficiently enough to be a first-option threat, creating a two-for-one dilemma that no defense of the era was built to solve. The Suns' three consecutive 50-win seasons and multiple Western Conference Finals appearances were the direct product of Nash's brilliance.
Why the Suns Retired #13
Nash never won an NBA championship in Phoenix — the 2007 series against San Antonio, decided partly by the suspension of Stoudemire and Boris Diaw following a minor altercation, remains one of the most debated officiating outcomes in playoff history. The title that felt inevitable never arrived. Some will cite that absence as a caveat to his legacy. Those people are wrong.
Championships validate systems. Nash's system needed no validation — it was validated by the eleven years of imitation that followed, as every NBA team adopted pace-and-space principles, built around point guards who could shoot, and prioritized ball movement over isolation. The modern NBA is Steve Nash's NBA. The three-point revolution, the death of slow halfcourt basketball, the value placed on passing big men and spacing — all of it flows from what Nash and D'Antoni built in the desert with #13 on their back.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 and named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. The Suns retired #13 in 2015 — a number that represents not just a player but an idea: that basketball, played fast and smart and selflessly, is the most beautiful version of the game. Steve Nash proved it. Phoenix was where he proved it. That is why #13 belongs in the rafters forever.
