King for a lifetime, fool for a... lifetime...

While I'd still have given the honor this year to Shaq, you can't really argue too much with Steve Nash being the recipient of this year's MVP award. Really, they're like 1 and 1A. I've been a Nash fan ever since he early college days at Santa Clara. I remember living in Phoenix, watching the 1996 draft, and being totally psyched when the Suns made him their first round pick. Of course, it didn't make much sense at the time given that Phoenix already had Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson on the team, but still they got the best player available in Nash. For some foolish reason, I remember, too, that the Phoenix media was whining and complaining about the Nash pick, lobbying instead for John Wallace (who was subsequently taken by New York and then dropped off the face of the Earth not long after). They whined because they're total morons. One of my personal highlights in life: working at a movie theater one summer and having Steve Nash walk in. I was working concessions and he came up for a popcorn and coke. I was, I believe, 17 at the time and a little star-struck. I actually called him "Mr. Nash." He definitely felt awkward. I was a douche. But hey, that was totally great. Then, due to a surplus at point guard, the Suns shipped him to Dallas who, this past summer, dropped the ball and allowed Nash to leave for free agency -- paving the way for his return to Phoenix. Now, in his first year back, he's the MVP. And why not? The guy was the instrumental leader and focal point of a team who earned the best record in the NBA for the regular season after not even making the playoffs a year ago. That's a turn around, my friends. Granted, I think a lot of that success (not only for Phoenix, but for anyone else out west) is due in part to Shaq going from LA to Miami, but that's beside the point. Steve Nash: He rules.