When the first came out we told you not to buy the “Steve Nash is thinking retirement” rumors. We told you he was a fighter who planned to get back on the court this season and play the next one as well.
But don’t take our word for it — take Nash’s. Here is what he said about the retirement rumors on Friday, via the Los Angeles Times.“No, not at all,” Nash said Friday of rumors he is considering calling it a career long before his contract expires at the end of next season. “I don’t know where that came from.
“For me, I realize I have about 18 months left of basketball and I want the most out of this that I can possibly get and I don’t know if that’s going to be one game or the vast majority of what’s left, but I have a long life without basketball, so I don’t want to give in too soon. I want to try to make the most of this opportunity to play if I can.”
Nash has only played in six games for the Lakers this season as he battles a nerve issue in his back that extends down his leg to his hamstring. This is all tied with the broken leg he had at the start of last season and the fact it has been a year and he can’t shake it is a bad thing.
Nash said he isn’t going to rush back; he wants to get this fixed.
But he is coming back. To think Nash would just walk away is the wishful thinking of Lakers fans who dream of more cap space, not anybody who is familiar with Nash. He got this far in his career because he’s a fighter, a guy who isn’t that tall and can’t leap out of the building, but who found his way to be an NBA MVP.
If Nash plays in 10 or more games this season then the idea of a medical retirement that clears him off the Lakers books is dead. And Nash hopes to play in more games than that. Eventually.