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Patrick Blennerhassett
Patrick Blennerhassett

Opinion | Steve Nash is the NBA’s coach of the year as he balances stars through injury and a rotating roster

  • The rookie head coach, a former two-time NBA MVP, has turned what could have been a disaster season for the Brooklyn Nets into one for the ages
  • Nash, aside from balancing three superstars, has found a way to navigate his squad through a number of injury woes in a tough Eastern Conference

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Steve Nash coaching the Brooklyn Nets. Photo: EPA
Patrick Blennerhassett
When Steve Nash was announced as the new coach of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, a collective ‘huh?’ went through the league. Nash had no previous head coaching experience, nor even as an assistant, and would be taking on a franchise in need of a legitimate leader. While Nash is respected as one of the game’s greats, and a sure-fire Hall of Famer, the idea of players becoming coaches, in any professional league, has always been a prickly one.
The 2019-20 season, ravaged by the global pandemic, was a bit of a wash for the Nets. Superstar guard Kyrie Irving had come over from the Boston Celtics, but the Nets’ other massive addition – two time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant – was going to be on the sidelines the whole season due to an Achilles injury he sustained while playing for the Golden State Warriors.

The Nets ended up overachieving, as they qualified for the play-offs, however were swept by the Toronto Raptors in the opening round. This season was supposed to be a triumphant one where they would finally climb to the top of the Eastern Conference and assert themselves as a perennial powerhouse for years to come.

This has happened, as the Nets are 43-22, half a point behind the Philadelphia 76ers for first in the division, but how they got here, and how this whole season has unfolded once again proves truth is always stranger than fiction.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash seems to have the ear of his players. Photo: AP
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash seems to have the ear of his players. Photo: AP

Nash’s tenure, which started when he was announced last September, got off to a rocky start. Aside from the typical punditry calling out his lack of coaching experience, there was ESPN blowhard Stephen A. Smith saying his hire was an example of “white privilege”.

Irving, who was speaking on Durant’s newly launched podcast, seemed to allude that the Nets were going to take an almost leaderless approach.

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