Steve Nash - Fantastic Finisher

Steve Nash has every feint and fake in the book. From his hesitation and hip swivel, to his patented probe dribble, Captain Canada created space like no other. Did he invent the off foot scoop or the jail dribble? Probably not, but he used every possible piece of deception and misdirection to generate just enough space to get his shot off. In a league filled with some of the tallest and greatest athletes in the world, Nash knew the spots he needed to get to in order to orchestrate the offense, and he negotiated just enough real estate to craftily carve up a defensive scheme. His hesitation created devastation. His passing ability and creativity constantly caused chaos for defenders because he was one of the league’s savviest scorers, but also one of the greatest passers in NBA history. It was always pick your poison with Steve: play him tight and he’ll go right around you, play off of him and statistically one of the greatest shooters ever would have an open jumper, and no matter what you did or didn’t do, he could pass it around, over, or through you if he really wanted to.

Today we’re here to look at the former Santa Clara bronco’s finishing. If you need a reminder of the first ballot Hall of Famer’s resume, here are some highlights: 2x NBA Most Valuable Player. 8x NBA All-Star. 3x All-NBA 1st Team. 2x All-NBA 2nd Team. 2x All-NBA 3rd Team. 5x NBA Assist Leader. 4x 50-40-90 Club member. The best free throw shooter in NBA history. From a team standpoint? Steve spearheaded six of the 12 best offensive units in NBA history. Now we get to look a little bit about he crafted his rack attacks. Enjoy!

Yes, I know I reused some of my older material, but I was caught up in the sentimentality of his recent retirement. I decided that since it gained a little extra traction because of BBALLBreakdown’s interview of John Wall and trimming a chunk of that clip of Stevie, that it was worth it to expand. So here’s a longer video about his finishing that you can use for film study. Footwork is the foundation of this video, obviously, so don’t forget to take notes on that.

If you'd like to support:
Venmo - @Evin_Gual
Cash App - $EvinGual

[LiqCharles]

low to the ground, below the rim finisher. proof that you dont need to have ups to be a great finisher. Nash uses his ball handling, smarts, hip, coordination and touch to get to where he needs to go and finish at the rim with the defense draped on him. it also helps that the defense is determined to have him score than get his teammates involved (due to his elite vision and passing). Nash is seriously overlooked - hes one of the GOATs.

[Somm_RJ]

1. He is such a great passer that the lane id always wide open. Help defense don't always come or late to response because they are always looking for the outlet pass. He only always has to deal with the person in front of him.

2. He is not a flashy dribbler like Kyrie or guards today but his handling is great with great protection, he makes almost virtually no dribbling errors. The handle, the smarts, coupled with the fact that he is also a fantastic shooter mean it's easier to get by the person in front of him. Defenders respect that and they don't want him to have the space to shoot. The closer the defender, the easier to lose him, it's hard to recover once the defender made a wrong step.

3. He always puts his body to shield his shot and shooting arm is always way extended in a scooping manner away from his body and thus the defender. He also has a deceptive upper body strength and great body control for him to be to finish through bumps which he himself created.

Seriously, if he had an average defense, it would not be insane and you can make an argument that he was the best point guard ever... sadly. He would not have any weakness at all. He wouldn't be great on defense but at least not bad to be considered a weakness. On offense, well, what can you do? You can't stop him. You can't help on defense and respect his vision, smarts, and creativity. You can't let him have space and pepper you with long bombs. You can't get too close because he blow by you and finish at the rim.

Honestly, if he ever wasn't so unselfish, the scoreboard would be lit. He just doesn't have the Kyrie or scoring point guards mentality prevalent in today's game. You can't point out his low scoring average because he can score at will... if he wanted to.

[christianwhite]

I was at the Sydney 2000 olympics, and I that is the first time I saw Nash live or on a basketball court. When I saw him play for Canada, he was like the MJ23 for his team, it was so clear he was there best player and then I saw the U..S.A team that won the Gold and I can honestly say watching Nash play was far more entertaining!

[gbboomer]

He shoots with his right and can drive to the left...and tight of course. Few players are this skilled nowadays

[jonathanshelton]

I was about to try to describe how Nash was able to beat guys off the dribble, but then I read the video description. Best analysis of Nash I've ever read, and I've read a lot. Great stuff.

[seanm]

Being such a fantastic passer, especially out of layups made defenders hesitate to contest his shots. And when they still contested he finished it with ease. Such a great player, I’ll make sure this generation doesn’t forget!

[thexeno]

I hate it when people call him overrated.

[melihakdogan]

He is a legend. He schooled everyone in this video.

[vaig]

Great video. You can tell Steph curry watched a lot of steve nash film.

[wordtoyourmamason]

And to think this is only highlighting his layups. Lol this doesn’t even begin to touch on his off-balance shots, passes or dribbling moves. Lol so underrated.

[ninjachannel]

Being truly ambidextrous is such an advantage in basketball. Nash used his "off-hand" as well as his strong hand for finishing, passing, and ballhandling, which made every fake he did so much more effective.

[jaedonharris]

This is my favorite basketball Chanel on YouTube deadass!!!

[mikemorada]

The ability to remain bouncy off his feet along with his solid hip swivel he could drive in whatever lane he desires. He has superb rim finishing skills as he is both equally gifted with his right and left hand. Steve Nash is an underrated basketball God! Shaq claimed he got robbed of one MVP title by this fella. He needs to watch alot of Steve Nash clips. By the way, this video only shows one side of Steve Nash vast array of basketball repertoire. He can create plays for his team mates and shoot threes on a high percentage as well!

[RV]

Great video. Keep bringing the small guard videos.

[marksamuelsoncable]

@4:59 Nash crossing up a young Chris Paul. Other than that the 2 best highlights I think are: @6:01 -- Display of incredible and incredibly immediate awareness to throw the ball up so high as to avoid the defender trying to sneak quickly in from Nash's behind for a block. Incredible difficulty.
@0:05

[Melvz_Fantasy]

man this guy has eyes on his back dude...he finished strong despite so many defenders around him

[BrentCarroll-yx]

suns fan crying right now missing his greatness

[jayjoe]

He’s not even a lefty! It’s amazing to see such dexterity!

[lalomex]

Still wiwrd how blessed ibwas yo. see steve nash play and his precision. I honestly never saw hin get blocked ever, not once. He always know how to use his body to shield grom defenders, even all the shot blo kers and tall guys..nveer once did they block his shot..two right hands floaters runner english, either side of the rim, contorted, off another leg, anything, he had it. And his shot was as aotumatic as u could get..he was rub into the ground by mike and his back condition always made him lose his legs in the playoffs, he would oush off for a split second longer and his shots would fall short. But this 6'3 point guard shot 50- 52 percent every year without any hops or extreme athleticisim. Favorite player ever man

[Telopead]

Nash is a complete offensive player. His 3 biggest asset made him stand out a lot:

1. The ability to keep the dribble alive. He is the first player i watch who does baseline in and out a lot. That scrambles and confuses the defense so much. you need to have great ball protection, tight dribble and a cool head to do that in the NBA.

2. Great shooting. His shooting is only second to steph i think, and he shooting a lot of 3 off dribble as well iirc. This kept his defender honest and have to stand tall and more vulnerable to drive-by.

3. Court vision and passing.

He is the ideal ball dominant player in the mid&late 2010s, where you have your ball hog star does lots of top of the key p&r, and have 3 and d players spreading the floor.

And unlike James Harden who dribble at the top of the key for 15sec then throws a stepback, Nash does not iso much, his ability to dribble a live ball in and out made him a lot more decisive in p&n, therefore, his style still leaves time for reset.

But what hes not great at was off ball. He didnt have a chance to do that much, therefore incompatible with wing iso players like sharq and kobe.