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Steve Nash's back-to-back MVP awards remain a watershed moment in Canadian sports. But SGA's entry into the MVP circle means it's his turn to take it to the next level.
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Published May 22, 2025 • 4 minute read
Steve Nash had Dirk Nowitzki as his MVP foil, and friend. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has Nikola Jokić as his nemesis.
Steve Nash had Dirk Nowitzki as his MVP foil, and friend. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has Nikola Jokić as his nemesis. Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images /PNG
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The NBA just can’t help but recycle stories.
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A playmaking Canadian guard, battling it out for league MVP with a dominant European forward. That was the story 20 years ago, when Steve Nash beat Dirk Nowitzki. And that was the story this week with Oklahoma City Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beating Nikola Jokić.
Gilgeous-Alexander said Nash was one of the first players he remembers watching as a kid. Now, Nash and the world are watching the Hamilton native.
“It means the world. There’s no better feeling than watching these guys thrive and them saying you had an effect on them. That makes it all worthwhile and special,” Nash said Thursday. “And I don’t know that there could be many compliments higher than that. It’s an honour that I was able to play some role in perhaps allowing them to dream and see what’s possible.
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“He’s also inspiring a new generation, or many generations. It’s very powerful to have a player and a figure like that.”
When Nash won the award — back-to-back in 2005 and 2006 — he was the only other international player besides Hakeem Olajuwon to have been named MVP. Forty-eight of the previous 49 were U.S.-born players. Nowitzki got his due in 2007, then it was another decade of American winners.
But the past seven MVP awards have all gone to international players. Nash’s wins started it. SGA’s just confirms it.
“It just speaks to the (game’s) increasingly global nature. It’s a truly big global sport,” said Nash. “I mean, that’s the way it should look, right? It shouldn’t just be Americans all the time. The fact that people are succeeding from all the different countries and backgrounds, I think, is fantastic. It’s only making the game greater. It’s only making the game more global.
“That should be the norm. Obviously, there’s a history of amazing basketball players in the United States — and will continue to be. In a sense, it’s the foundation of the game — but this is the way the game should be. I don’t think anyone would want the game to become just an American game. I think Americans want to see these incredible players from all over the world. I think the world wants to see it become more and more global.
“I think it tells more stories. It makes the world more common and relatable and brings people together.”
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Giannis Antetokounmpo. Joel Embiid. Jokić. All have achieved MVP tier. Luka Dončić may yet do it. Victor Wembanyama is expected to.
SGA was second to Jokić in voting last year, and beat both the Joker and Antetokounmpo this season. But there may be more Canadian talent waiting to emerge. No other country outside of the U.S. has had as many lottery picks in the draft.
It wasn’t always this way. When Nash broke into the league, few knew he was Canadian. Now the North is producing more NBA players than many U.S. cities, like New York or Miami.
“To think when I came in the league … it was Rick Fox and Bill Wennington. Rick, I think, spent two weeks in Canada before moving to the Bahamas, and then had a great career. But that was the kind of place the Canadian landscape was. It was pretty thin and barren,” Nash said. “But with the Raptors and Grizzlies for a period of time, coming to Canada, the internet making the world smaller and sharing information, with AAU basketball crossing the border, our kids believe they’re as good as anybody.
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“They’ve been doing this now for a couple of decades. The game’s just grown. More hoops and driveways, more coaches, better coaches … it all leads to funnelling more talent toward the game and more talent matriculating in the game.
“So it has been an explosion, and to think that we are now constantly having to cut or not accommodate NBA players on our national team from where we were, 20, 30, 40, years ago is remarkable. It’s a testament to just how much the game is growing, how popular it is, and back to the whole global nature of the sport.”
There are parallels to Nash and SGA’s stories, but the most common thread is their work ethic. Nash’s workouts were legendary, even the beer-fuelled off-season ones. SGA’s intensity on the practice court caught Chris Paul’s attention, with the superstar mentoring him during his early years in the NBA because he was impressed with how hard he worked.
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Both were first-round draft picks — Nash at 15, SGA at 11 — but were considered projects to be groomed, and came into their own later in their careers.
“He’s got an incredible process and desire and work ethic, incredible character. That’s what’s gotten him here, and that’s what will allow him to continue on this path. It’s not complicated, you know? It’s just a matter of keeping it simple and doing what he does best,” said Nash. “My story is pretty improbable. I love that about it. I wasn’t 6-8, 260 and the fastest, strongest person. And so I love my story, if I can say that, because it’s improbable, and I think it shows people that you can accomplish a lot more than you are allowed to believe if you work for something, you find belief, confidence, momentum and have the discipline to do it with passion every single day.
“I genuinely get super excited to see his success, and really, probably my favourite player to watch. I just hope he continues on this trajectory and continues to rack up seasons like this. … He’s phenomenal.”
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