April 19, 2007 -- One was once considered nothing more than an average NBA point guard at best. The other appeared to be a first-round draft bust.

But after living in the same apartment complex following another disappointing season for the Dallas Mavericks in 1999, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki developed a friendship that would lead to greatness on the basketball court.

A friendship that may eventually lead to one of the closest MVP races in NBA history.

Before Nash left the Mavs in July 2004 for a contract he simply couldn't refuse with the Phoenix Suns, the inseparable duo spent their days together shooting jumpers, playing one-on-one, and just hanging out. Their hard work and friendship would guide the Mavericks to four 50-plus win seasons, and help both players become such valuable pieces to their current teams that even the NBA’s scoring leader, Kobe Bryant, is rarely mentioned in the same MVP discussions.

“It's been a great ride, obviously,” Nowitzki told the Dallas Morning News. “We both went our ways and kind of improved together, worked on our games together and nobody could really see how far we could take this."

Nash won two-straight MVP trophies in his first two seasons with the Suns, and could join NBA legends Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird as the only players to win the award three consecutive times.

The only man standing in his way from accomplishing that feat, one that the great Michael Jordan never added to his resume, happens to be the godfather of his twin daughters.

However, Nash would rather see Nowitzki be awarded the league's highest individual honor than continue making his own history.

"Dirk gets my vote," Nash said in USA Today midway through the season.

"He's had a great year and the team's had the best season, so I would give (the MVP award) to him."

Coming off a heartbreaking collapse in the 2006 NBA Finals where Dallas was overcome by Miami in six games despite storming out to a 2-0 series lead, Nowitzki’s Mavericks got off to a slow start in 2006-07, dropping their first four games of the season. It would take a 119-112 victory against Nash and the Suns on Nov. 9 to jumpstart what would become a historic season.

With averages of 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to winning streaks of 12, 13 and 17 games, including an undefeated record in February, a franchise-record 31 road wins and a league-best 67-15 overall record. The Mavericks finished just three wins shy of joining the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win 70 games in a season.

Nowitzki also took after his good friend by making the players around him better. He played a major part in the development of forward Josh Howard, who was selected to his first All-Star Game as a reserve in 2007. Nowitzki had his best shooting season (50.1 percent) and often drew double and triple teams, resulting in open shots for his third-year teammate.

Phoenix also came out the gate slowly, beginning the season with a miserable 1-5 record. But their luck quickly turned thanks to another MVP-caliber season from its superstar point guard. The Suns had winning streaks of 15 and 17 games, and finished with the NBA's second best record, behind only the Mavs, at 61-21.

Nash helped the Suns become the league's highest scoring team for the third consecutive season by averaging a career high and league-leading 11.6 assists per game to go along with 18.6 points. His scoring and assist numbers made him the first player since Magic Johnson and Kevin Johnson in 1989-90 to average 18 points and 11 assists per game for a season. The Suns went just 2-4 without the five-time All-Star.

On March 14, Dallas hosted Phoenix in what many believe was the best game of the 2006-07 NBA season and a Western Conference Finals preview. The two MVP candidates shined, but it was Nash's Suns who outlasted Nowitzki and the Mavs in a 129-127 double-overtime thriller. Nash registered 32 points, including a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to force the first overtime, 16 assists and eight rebounds, while Nowitzki posted 30 points, 16 rebounds and six assists.

The good friends had several one-on-one meetings in the contest, including Nash elbowing Nowitzki as he attempted a layup and Nowitzki attacking the rim hard with only Nash standing between him and the basket. Dirk had a chance to force a third overtime but missed a mid-range jumper that was rebounded by Nash as time expired.

The Mavericks and Suns split their four-game season series. And before most of those meetings, the two got together to talk about pretty much everything other than the MVP race..

“It hardly ever comes up,” Nash recently told the East Valley Tribune. “We don’t get to see each other as much, so there is plenty of other stuff to catch up on. When we get together, it’s just like old times.”