Stephen John Nash is a Canadian former professional basketball player and coach. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was an eight-time All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA selection, and a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player. He ranks as one of the top players in NBA history in career three-point shooting, free-throw shooting, total assists, and assists per game. In 2018, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Nash grew up playing several sports, and after a successful high school basketball career in British Columbia, earned a scholarship to Santa Clara University in California. In his four seasons with the Broncos, the team appeared in three NCAA tournaments, and he was twice named the West Coast Conference (WCC) Player of the Year. Nash graduated from Santa Clara as the team's all-time leader in assists.
He was taken as the 15th pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns, but had little impact and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998. By his fourth season with the Mavericks, he was voted to his first NBA All-Star Game and earned his first All-NBA selection.