I Know this may startle you but the MVP is a joke. Nash did not deserve either of those awards. Nash is not a complete player and he certainly had some help, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire, thats an All-Star Team.
So throw out that MVP credential, that was a feel good move by the league, not the right move.
Word. Real disgusted at the time and wanting to slap that long-haired hippie Canadian.
Total feel-good bandwagon thing, highlighted by the hype the Suns were getting from sports media for their style of play, and the prospects of STAT being like a Lawrence Taylor for the PF position.
I made a post outlining Nash's career, breaking it all down a few weeks back, basically:
He came to D'ant and bcame the Nash we now know when he was 29, or 30. And his career had already had it's typical peak, career-yr, and otherwise had leveled out into a natural plateua.
Interestingly, his skills themselves didn't change much when he paired with D'ant. Yes, everything about him improved, but it wasn't astronomic, really, in:
shooting %
3pt prowess
passing
He showed upper range ability in all these w/ Mavs. And at 30 it'd be absurd itself to really figure he magically sprouted new "skills" that took a borderline all-star (I don't 100 agree that he was mediocre r anything before), into a HOF guy. All at 30yrs+
I argued -- and do argue -- that the change was more macro. Revolving within SSOL, every last ounce of Nash's game was able to shine brightest. He was allowed to be everything he could; which is a responsibility, but he passed w/ flying colors.
We see glimmers more n more of this with our boys. Starting to nail the split second decisions of a fast paced game where action IS virtually forced -- their decisions, vs a more controlled, coach pre-ordaining plays and complex schemes all the time.
Sometimes they can look foolish and dumb and D'ant and us look like blundering fools. That's the image. But more and more our confidence and execution is having us look like dynamos.
Our players rape as they make the split second, crucial decisions with greater consistency and precision. Other teams aren't prepared for SSOL style, or the aggressive assault it can be. "YOU react and respond to US and guess what's up". That kind of mind play and situation is textbook game theory, essentially. It applies to poker just as it does the nba.
In poker, this is referred to as "LAG". Poker LAG = NBA SSOL. Naturally, LAG is the easiest style of play to butcher, make a fool of yourself AND BE GROSSLY MISUNDERSTOOD. You take more responsibility with it, force the action more, put pressure on opponents, keep people on toes, do things outside the conventional norm, and give them greater more chances to make greater mistakes in *adapting* TO *you* above all else.
Sound like SSOL? There's a good reason. LAG is game theory. SSOL really is, too. Basketball is a game comprised of skills and psychology and variance.
Anyways, it wasn't until his 2nd and 3rd years w/ D'ant that Nash was able to fully assume confidence and mastery of flow within SSOL style.
SO!
Raymond is much younger than Nash, thus we can assume he has a greater chance at growing more and greater under D'ant since age will not retard this progress like it likely did Nash after a bit of time; and, we can reason that even w/o D'ant, Raymond had yet to reach peak status and hit that career-year evolution of his game like Nash already had.
Throw in better defense, better physicality, SSOL-loving speed...And I think Trillion makes a great point in a great thread; even if Felton never will be like Nash, or even as good or better with STAT.