Steve Nash (Mr.MVP)

Steven John Nash, OBC (born February 7, 1974), is a Canadian professional basketball player who currently plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named NBA Most Valuable Player in 2005 and 2006. Nash had an outstanding high school basketball career, but garnered no attention from US college recruiters as he played in Canada. He was eventually picked up by Santa Clara University head coach Dick Davey, and soon after began his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns; however, his impact in the two years of his first stint was minimal. He was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998, and by his third season with the Mavericks, he had established himself as one of the top point guards in the league. In 2001, he was voted into his first All-Star game and earned his first All-NBA selection. Together with Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, Nash took the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals the following season. Nash became a free agent after the 2003-04 NBA season and signed with the Phoenix Suns. He was instrumental in dramatically transforming the fortunes of the Suns, leading them to an NBA-best 62-20 win-loss record as well as into the Western Conference Finals. For his efforts, he was named the league MVP for both the 2004-05 and 2005-06 NBA seasons. Now into his third season with the Suns, Nash continues to be the pivot of one of the league's most potent offensive teams.

Achievements:

Most Valuable Player 2005

In 2005, Nash edged Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat to win the NBA MVP award. Nash became the first Canadian and the second foreign-born player (after Hakeem Olajuwon) to earn the honor. He is the first MVP who did not lead his team in scoring since Dave Cowens in 1972-73. Nash is just the third point guard ever to be named MVP — along with Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy — and only the sixth guard (Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, and Allen Iverson being the others). Nash was the first white player to win the award since Larry Bird in 1986 and remains the lowest-drafted NBA player ever to win MVP honors.

Most Valuable Player 2006: Nash wins again

The MVP award was awarded by the NBA on May 7, 2006 to Steve Nash for the second year in a row. The official announcement came only a day after the Phoenix Suns (playing against the Lakers) became the eighth team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.

Nash is only the second point guard, along with Magic Johnson, to win the MVP award multiple times and also the third guard in NBA history to earn back-to-back MVPs joining Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Only eight other NBA players have won back-to-back MVP awards: Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan. Former player and Hall Of Famer Bill Russell showed his admiration of Nash after criticism rained down on the two consecutive MVPs given to him and a potential third that would have vaulted him into legendary status. Russell stated: "I think, on the world stage, he's one of our great athletes in all sports," Russell said. "I'm a big fan. The two MVPs he got, he deserved. Part of the reason that he's so good and so effective is that the guys like playing with him. He creates an atmosphere where they win games."[14] However, on a dissenting note, analyst Bill Simmons of ESPN.com, stated "Steve Nash's back-to-back trophies transformed the award into what it is now: a popularity contest."

Freak History

Dr. James Naismith is known world-wide as the inventor of basketball. He was born in 1861 in Ramsay township, near Almonte, Ontario, Canada. The concept of basketball was born from Naismith's school days in the area where he played a simple child's game known as duck-on-a-rock outside his one-room schoolhouse. The game involved attempting to knock a "duck" off the top of a large rock by tossing another rock at it. Naismith went on to attend McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

After serving as McGill's Athletic Director, James Naismith moved on to the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA in 1891, where the sport of basketball was born. In Springfield, Naismith was faced with the problem of finding a sport that was suitable for play inside during the Massachusetts winter for the students at the School for Christian Workers. Naismith wanted to create a game of skill for the students instead of one that relied solely on strength. He needed a game that could be played indoors in a relatively small space. The first game was played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets used as goals.

James Naismith devised a set of thirteen rules of basketball:

1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.
2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist.
3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed.
4. The ball must be held in or between the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it.
5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul; the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game. No substitution shall be allowed.
6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of Rules 3 and 4 and such as described in Rule 5.
7. If either side make three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul).
8. Goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the ground into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edge and the opponents move the basket, it shall count as a goal.
9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them.
10. The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have the power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.
11. The referee shall be the judge of the ball and decide when it is in play in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.
12. The time shall be two 15-minute halves with five minutes' rest between.
13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winners.

In addition to the creation of the basketball, James Naismith graduated as a medical doctor, primarily interested in sports physiology and what we would today call sports science and as Presbyterian minister, with a keen interest in philosophy and clean living. Naismith watched his sport, basketball, introduced in many nations by the YMCA movement as early as 1893. Basketball was introduced at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Today basketball has grown to become one of the world's most popular sports.

The Greatest Player of All-Time

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American Professional basketball player. Widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he became one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA (National Basketball Association) around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a standout career at the University of North Carolina, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as one of the stars of the league, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the foul line at Slam Dunk Contest, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness." He also gained a reputation as one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a “three-peat”. Though Jordan abruptly left the NBA in October 1993 to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998). His 1995–96 Bulls team won an NBA-record 72 regular-season games. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but he returned for two more NBA seasons as a member of the Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five NBA MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances and three All-Star MVPs, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP Awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA record for highest career regular season scoring average with 30.1 points per game, as well as averaging a record 33.4 points per game in the playoffs. In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century.

Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam. He is currently a part-owner and Managing Member of Basketball Operations of the Charlotte Bobcats, which reside in his home state of North Carolina.