Steve Nash credits Steph Curry for ending his career
On a recent episode of the “Mind the Game” podcast, co-host Steve Nash shared with LeBron James and guest Steph Curry the story of how he realized his NBA career had come to an end — with Curry playing a key role in that moment.
The turning point in 2014 preseason
The story goes back to the 2014–15 preseason, when Nash and the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Golden State Warriors in Ontario, California. Golden State dominated from the start, scoring 39 points in the first quarter and cruising to a 116–75 victory. Curry recorded 12 points within the first two and a half minutes and finished the game with 25 points in just 24 minutes.
Nash, already struggling with persistent back problems, knew he could no longer keep up with Curry’s speed and movement.
“I’m guarding Steph. They put up like 50 in the first quarter — maybe it was 45, but it felt like a 50-piece. I couldn’t have stopped him even if I were 100 percent,”
he recalled on the podcast.
The moment of realization
A few days later, Nash accepted that his time had come.
“Man, literally like three or four more days of thinking on it, I was like… yeah. I think it’s time,”
he joked to Curry before adding,
“You put me out!”
The end of an era
In July 2014, Nash had already announced that the upcoming season would likely be his last. At 40 years old, he played only three preseason games before his back issues returned, including the one against the Warriors. On October 23, 2014, just days before the start of the season, the Lakers ruled him out for the year. He never appeared in another NBA game.
Author’s summary
Steve Nash humorously admitted that watching Steph Curry’s explosive play in a 2014 preseason game made him realize it was time to retire from the NBA.