Lakers News: D’Antoni Offers Praise And Reflects On Nash’s Career

Russell Valenzuela
3 Min Read

Despite a disappointing two years as a Laker, Steve Nash passed Mark Jackson for third place on the NBA’s all-time assists list Tuesday night. Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni coached Nash for a good portion of his career in Phoenix.

According to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters, D’Antoni praised Nash’s efforts this season and his first-half performance against the Houston Rockets:

In addition, D’Antoni mentioned that it’s too bad that everything has to come to an end, but Nash has had a great career:

On top of being one of the NBA’s best passers, Nash won two consecutive league MVP awards while playing under D’Antoni in Phoenix.

When Nash became a Laker, expectations were high. The Lakers made a coaching change five games into the 2012-13 season and reunited D’Antoni with Nash. Although Nash suffered an injury in his second game as a Laker, the thought of Nash running D’Antoni’s system excited many. The roster appeared to be a good fit with Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.

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Unfortunately, Nash’s injury issues kept him sidelined for a majority of the season. He expected to come back strong at the beginning of this season, but continued to suffer from a nerve irritation.

As a result of missing a high amount of games, Nash has realized the reality that his career is near. During his historic night, he felt his nerve flare up again and is unlikely to return this season. He still has one year left on his contract, but it remains to be seen if he will ever recover from injury.
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VIDEO: Check Out All Of Steve Nash’s Assists From Lakers Vs. Rockets, Plus What Did Mark Jackson Tweet At Nash During The Game?

Russell Valenzuela graduated from UC Irvine and writes for Lakers Nation. As a Laker fan since childhood, he follows and tracks statistics for a variety of sports.
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