Los Angeles – Head coach Doc Rivers and the Clippers share a court with the rival Lakers, but they also can recognize and respect greatness when they see it on the other side.
The Clippers paid their respects Friday to Lakers guard Steve Nash, who’s now expected to miss the entire season with a back injury.
Rivers went further than calling Nash a great player. He called the 40-year-old one of the best point guards to play the game, saying Nash reminded him of Isaiah Thomas and John Stockton.
“You know, those smaller point guards that had big hearts and did a lot of stuff,” Rivers said. “Back-to-back MVP at his size, just amazing. So, you know, and I think he did a lot of things for the game. I think the great ones, to me, they make the game different, and I think Nash did that with his movement, being an aggressive scorer but also a facilitator, finishing under the rim.”
Nash won the MVP in 2005 and 2006 with the Suns. He shot more than 50 percent from the floor from the 2004-05 season to the 2009-10 season in Phoenix, all while dishing out more than 700 assists and scoring more than 1,100 points every season through that stretch. He’s also an eight-time All-Star.
Clippers guard Chris Paul said it was unbelievable when he heard the news, calling it “probably one of the most unfortunate things” he’s heard.
“Not only is he a two-time MVP, one of the best point guards to ever play the game, but he’s also a great guy,” Paul said. “A guy that, when I was in college, I used to watch all the time. I’ll never forget – when I came into the NBA, he was the guy that I was coming after. He was the guy. I remember the night before I played him for the first time, I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to play against him so bad. So it’s unfortunate, and I wish him the best.”
Clippers guard J.J. Redick shared similar thoughts. He said he felt bad when he heard the news, but he also said Nash was able to extract the most out of his career and his potential, calling him “one of probably the top five greatest point guards of all time.”
“He’s an obvious Hall of Famer and someone that I’ve gotten to know over the last couple years, and he’s been great with me,” Redick said. “Picked his brain a few times. We had a little meeting before I went back to Austin for the summer back in May, and he sat with me for an hour and a half and let me pick his brain.
“I know how much he wants to play, that’s for sure. He made that very clear to me, and I’m sure he’s made that clear to all the people around him, how much he loves playing. That’s where I feel for him. He’s a guy that just loves to play. To not be able to do it is sad.”
Nash, after playing in at least 60 games each year from the 2000-01 season to the 2011-12 season, has played just 65 games the last two seasons for the Lakers. Rivers said it’s sad to see this happen, but let out a laugh and said it’s to be expected at Nash’s age.
“I looked at it that way, too,” Rivers said. “But he’s had a great career, obviously a first ballot Hall of Fame career. That’s how we should look at it.”
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