He’s no doubt the best player ever to grace a basketball court in Edmonton, and some lucky kids got the spend the day learning from him.
Sunday afternoon, former NBA star Steve Nash took part in drills with dozens of youngsters at the Saville Centre.
“Just empowering them to be the best versions of themselves they can be and give them the tools to deal with stress, anxiety, whatever challenges they may face,” said Nash, explaining his role as an ambassador with the Tangerine “A Bright Way Forward” program.
“Whether it’s elite development or just participation, the longer you play sports, I’m of the mind, the more you get out of life. The physical fitness, the release, the team work,” the Victoria, B.C. native said.
Nash’s appearance in Edmonton was trending on Twitter, where people were talking about the #BrightWayForward program.
Nash, 42, played over 1,200 NBA games from 1996 to 2014. He was NBA MVP in 2005 and 2006.
READ MORE: Steve Nash one-on-one: Injuries, retirement, and Raptors regret
When he retired last year he was the third in NBA history with 10,335 assists, trailing only John Stockton and Jason Kidd. Nash was also the best free-throw shooter in NBA history at 90.4 percent, slightly ahead of Mark Price.
Nash now works as a player development consultant for the Golden State Warriors and is the general manager of the Canadian men’s national team.
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“It’s coming. We’re going through an incredible period of player development,” Nash said of the Canadian team.
“As a team on the international stage, we were devastated not to make the Olympics. We lost by a bucket to Venezuela, a team we beat by 27 four days earlier in the tournament. It just comes down to experience. These are very young guys with very little international experience. You can’t cheat experience.”
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