30 Greatest Dallas Mavericks players in franchise history

7. Steven Nash

The Mavs completely revamped their roster on draft night in 1998 with two historic trades. They moved down to draft Dirk Nowitzki ninth overall and acquired Suns reserve guard Steve Nash. Yes, it is wild to think about all the question marks scouts and pundits were trying to throw on the two future Hall of Famers that night

Nash barely played in his first two seasons, but he immediately became the Mavericks' starting point guard. Dallas had missed the playoffs eight straight years before he and Dirk arrived, and they won just 19 games in their first year together. Nowitzki thought about going back to Germany, but his friendship with Nash played a key factor in the legend staying.

Steve Nash blossomed into a two-time All-Star as Dallas was back in the playoffs in 2001, and they reached the conference finals in 2003. The Mavs were bounced in the first round of the postseason in 2004, and they let Nash walk in free agency. The 6’3 guard immediately made them pay as he won back-to-back MVP honors in Phoenix and the Suns eliminated Dallas from the playoffs in 2005.

Nash averaged 14.6 points, 7.2 assists, and 0.9 steals in 32.7 minutes per game over his six seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. He became a star playing next to Dirk before cementing his Hall of Fame case in Phoenix playing under Mike D’Antoni.