"Congratulations to Steve Nash for winning the NBA Most Valuable Player award for the 2004–2005 season!" Wearing glasses and smiling broadly, Stern announced the winner of the most important award at the end of the regular-season awards ceremony.
"MVP!!! Steve won MVP!!!" Wild cheers erupted from the Lakers' locker room!
And at that very moment, fans watching the regular-season awards ceremony in front of their TVs were cheering just as loudly!
Steve Nash, the Son of the Wind!
A frail white guard whose true height might not even have reached 190 centimeters.
A guard who had spent the early years of his career entirely on the bench.
An aging guard overlooked by coaches, disliked by teammates, and abandoned by owners.
In just two years, he had transformed into a 31-year-old MVP with the Los Angeles Lakers!
A late bloomer.
Inspiring.
This story could practically be made into a book.
For ordinary fans, seeing Nash win MVP felt completely different from seeing O'Neal win it.
O'Neal simply wasn't someone the average person could relate to.
Nash's eyes were slightly moist.
This season, he had shaved off his flowing long hair.
His gaunt cheeks trembled faintly.
"MVP?"
"Mine?"
Even after Stern announced the honor, Nash still could not believe it was real.
"Steve, I told you—you would become MVP." Kobe gave Nash a hug from beside him.
"You deserve it!"
"You're the best!"
The Lakers players also applauded this kind veteran, a point guard who never cared about his own stats and would never shoot whenever a teammate had an opportunity.
This season, Nash averaged 18.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 3.1 turnovers per game. His shooting splits were 52.1%, 40.3%, and 91.5%.
He broke Stockton's league record for assists per game in a season!
16.4 assists per game!