Steve Nash Credits Steph Curry for His Retirement Realization
On a recent episode of the Mind the Game podcast, Steve Nash shared a humorous story involving LeBron James and Steph Curry about the moment he knew his NBA career was over—and Curry partly caused it.
The 2014–15 Preseason Game
The pivotal moment occurred during the 2014–15 preseason when Nash’s Los Angeles Lakers faced the Golden State Warriors in Ontario, California. The Warriors exploded offensively, scoring 39 points in the first quarter and cruising to a 116–75 victory. Steph Curry scored 12 points in the opening 2:30 and finished with 25 points in just 24 minutes.
Nash’s Realization
Already struggling with back issues, Nash admitted he couldn’t keep up with Curry’s speed and agility.
“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 if I was 100 percent.”
A few days later, Nash had a moment of clarity about his career.
“Man, literally like three more, four more days of thinking on it, I was like… yeah. I think it’s time,” Nash joked to Curry. “You put me out!”
Final Season and Retirement
- In July 2014, Nash had announced that the upcoming season would be his last.
- He played only three preseason games before his back injury returned, including the game against the Warriors.
- On October 23, 2014, under a week before the regular season started, Nash was ruled out for the entire season and never played in the NBA again.
Steve Nash humorously credits Steph Curry’s dominance in a 2014 preseason game as the turning point leading him to realize it was time to retire from the NBA.