Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and head coach Steve Kerr wait on stage as Curry accepts the NBA KIA Most Valuable Player for the 2014-2015 Season at the Warriors Training Facility in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, May 2, 2015.
Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash will join the Golden State Warriors coaching staff in a limited role the team announced Friday. As a player consultant, the recently retired Nash, 41, will do on-court work with the team periodically throughout the season.
Nash’s relationship with head coach Steve Kerr lead to the 19-year veteran landing his first coaching job after calling it quits last season due to nagging back issues.
Nash was the star point guard throughout Kerr’s entire tenure as the Phoenix Suns’ General Manager from 2007-10. Kerr said Nash has always shared the team-first mentality that was a key to the Warriors championship success last season:
“We share a lot of beliefs about how the game should be played and about the work ethic that goes in to being great. I canât wait to work with him again and have him around our team.â
The similarities between Nash’s game and reining league MVP Stephen Curry also adds to the excitement of the partnership, even if the wry Nash claims the only thing he can help Curry do better is his laundry.
Curry grew-up watching Nash as a point guard who combined superior passing ability with deadly three point shot, the same skills Curry has mastered to become arguably the best and most unique point guard in the league.
Nash also played a similar uptempo offensive style that emphasized ball-movement and long distance shooting in Phoenix, and said he hopes to pass along some lessons he learned while taking the Suns to three Western Conference Finals:
“The Warriors played such a beautiful style of team basketball last season and itâs a style that I am very familiar with and enjoyed playing throughout my career. This team is extremely talented, as they proved in winning the championship last season, but they also have a number of core players who are relatively young in their careers.”
The acquisition will only increase the Canadian’s popularity in the Bay Area. He first made his mark during his four year collegiate career (1992-1996) at Santa Clara University, where he was a two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year, and finished as the school’s all-time leader in assists (510), free throw percentage (.824) and three point field goals (263).
Follow @SFBay and @JakeMMontero on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of the Golden State Warriors.
Last modified September 29, 2015 5:18 am
This website uses cookies.