A call for Nash to remain in Phoenix.
Has Nash played his last game in a Suns uniform? Will/should the Suns trade Steve Nash? Does Nash want to continue playing in Phoenix? These questions have been asked and discussed ad nauseum over the past few years. While it is still unclear if there will even be a NBA season in ‘11-12, one of our writers shares an emotional, personal story on the importance of Steve Nash to the Phoenix Suns. –Ed.
“What about duct tape? Let’s try that,” I remember saying to my mom in November of 1998. The cheap, regular athletic tape just wasn’t cutting it.
I had spent months trying to figure out how to cover up and protect a strange lump on my right thigh. I wasn’t sure what it was; all I knew was the excruciating pain that shot through my entire leg anytime someone touched or bumped into it on the court. I had put up with it for a while but the pain was getting to be too much. Basketball season was in full swing and there was no way I was going to miss a game. At this point, the best solution (in my mind) was to cover the golf ball size lump with a cup (commonly used in baseball) while tightly wrapping duct tape around my thigh a few times. That way, I convinced myself I could continue playing and the pain would, for the time being at least, subside.
Unfortunately, while it was a good theory, it didn’t work. Actually, it made it worse. As time went on, the lump continued to increase and so did the pain. After numerous visits to multiple different doctors, doctors determined the lump was a tumor. The ironic and funny part is that I always jokingly referred to the tumor as my “cancerous lump.” After all, I was 14 so having a tumor was the last thing on my mind. I’ve always been a pretty easy going guy so I took the news in stride.
The tumor was surgically removed and sent to a lab for further testing. I’ll never forget that day in April of 1999 when a phone call came letting me know the tumor was malignant (cancerous). They called it Synovial Cell Sarcoma — a very rare soft-tissue cancer most commonly found in young adults (the same one actor Robert Urich passed away from). The doctor’s immediate concern was if the cancer spread to anywhere else in my body.
I, on the other hand, was most concerned with the reality of amputation. In the early to mid-’90s, the only way to treat this type of cancer was to amputate the affected area. Fortunately, the doctors decided against that as they felt good about my prognosis moving forward. I’d have to come back a few times a year for check-ups and blood work (and still do) to make sure it hasn’t spread anywhere else but that didn’t seem like such a big deal to me after having the realization I could lose my right leg.
Obviously, after the surgery, I was unable to play basketball and my overall attitude became fraught with pessimism. I was always a happy-go-lucky person and loved to help others but I was self-absorbed in my own selfishness (looking back, I’m ashamed at my behavior). Eventually, I didn’t know if I even wanted to play basketball anymore when I got healthy again. I had a “what’s the point” type of attitude and figured something would again go wrong that would prevent me from playing.
I’m not sharing my story for a pity party. I don’t want sympathy or empathy. I’m sharing it because of the impact a player by the name of Steve Nash had on me when I was going through treatment.
Quite simply, Steve Nash made me fall in love with basketball again — and that’s a gift I’ll never forget.
I grew up in Phoenix (during the KJ, Chambers, Barkley years) but when I first was diagnosed with cancer I lived in Colorado (though, I still followed the Suns religiously). I remember when they drafted Nash with the 15th pick in the ’96 Draft and I immediately identified and related with him. His positive attitude and unlikely route to the NBA was an inspiration to me.
More than the basketball side of things, however, I remember hearing a story where he stayed a few hours after an organized autograph session for fans so he could sign each piece of memorabilia they had. I had never heard of anything like that before. To Nash, this was no big deal; just something that a professional athlete should do out of kindness for the position they’re in.
When I was diagnosed in 1999, Nash was in his first year with the Dallas Mavericks. It has been well-documented that his first couple years in Dallas were far from ideal; it got to the point, at times, when the home crowd in Dallas booed him for performing under their lofty expectations. Nash is a sensitive, caring guy by nature (something I could also identify with) so I can only imagine how difficult that was for him to go through. But what inspired me the most was how he never gave up in spite of all the surrounding negativity. We all know he went on to have multiple All-Star seasons with the Mavericks and made them, arguably, the most fun team to watch in the NBA.
Seeing the type of person Nash was on and off the basketball court made an enormous impact on the type of person I am today. Not only did I want to play the game again, writing about it became my choice of career. I had always looked up to professional athletes growing up but I remember feeling disappointed when I would hear or see the type of people they were off the court. It is a dichotomy Nash has never had to deal with.
Clearly, I didn’t go on to have the same success on the basketball court as Nash (I tried out for a minor league professional team but didn’t make the final cut) but he did help me want to play the game again. Going through cancer, I think I somehow blamed basketball for the predicament I was in; I’m not really sure why I correlated the two. Nash helped me curb my pessimism into hope. I loved watching him create shots for his teammates and always thought that was how the game should be played.
When he decided to sign with the Suns in 2004, it’s probably an understatement to say I was ecstatic. Since then, we know the success he’s had here in Phoenix (the two MVPs, the 50-40-90 club, leading the League in assists multiple times, making the Suns relevant again) but we also got to see the type of person he is first-hand. I remember an article in 2007 stating that just hours after a Playoff victory against the Lakers, Nash visited patients in Good Samaritan Regional Health Center in Phoenix. Had the writer’s mother-in-law not been at the hospital at the same time that night, we would’ve never known Nash went there to boost someone’s spirits. Amazing.
People tell athletes all the time how much of an inspiration they are to them personally. I can only imagine how saturated they become with the compliments and praise. Unphased, I had the same fortune of letting Nash know my story at a Suns game about six years ago. He could’ve given me a fake smile and a monotonous ‘thank you’ but when I told him about my story, he seemed visibly moved and genuinely interested. Maybe he was creeped out by me, or completely faking it, but it seemed real and that meant more to me than he will ever know.
I’m supposed to be objective as a writer. At least, that’s the we’re told. But, I’ve never been one to conform and my story definitely isn’t common. It’s entirely from a selfish and biased point of view, but I truly believe Nash needs to close out his career in Phoenix. He is Phoenix. Again, I’m nothing special; I’m just one of the millions of people he has positively affected or influenced around the globe and in the state of Arizona. With the Suns season ending last night, there is little doubt the rumors will again increase as to whether or not he’ll remain a Sun in the coming years.
I, for one, hope he does.
Either way, thank you Steve…for everything.
Ben
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The fantastic part is to have so many of you sharing the same crush, which brings me touching stories as this one.
In a word, it’s nice to have you all, and it’s nice to have Steve Nash in our universe.
and as good as he is at bball, he is better at being human.
he lives in this country so don’t say it isn’t his business. If you don’t agree with his politics that is fine. he still allowed to have his own opinion. He is not some robot controlled by $tern like you want him to be. Freedom of speech. Great article. very moving. I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.
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