30 best NBA players to never win a championship

8. Steve Nash

If you were to watch Steve Nash in his first four years in the NBA after being taken with the 15th pick in the 1996 draft out of Santa Clara, you would’ve never guessed that he would’ve amounted to much. Nash put up only 7.2 points and 3.8 assists per game while shooting a meager 43.8 percent from the floor in those four seasons. However, he finally got his opportunity as the full-time starting point guard for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2000-01 season and greatness was born.

When you look at the production of Nash, it’s certainly impressive from a statistical standpoint. He was successful with the Mavericks, but he didn’t really hit his stride in that regard until re-joining the Phoenix Suns (the team that initially drafted him) ahead of the 2004-05 season. Over eight seasons in Phoenix, Nash averaged a double-double as he posted 16.3 points and 10.9 assists per game. Meanwhile, he was also wonderfully efficient as he converted 51 percent of his field goal attempts and 43.7 percent of his 3-point attempts.

With that said, even that isn’t what mad Nash as great as he was. He was simply one of the most memorable players of all-time in terms of the simple entertainment and joy he brought to the game. Heading the seven-seconds-or-less Suns, he was a ball of fire that made the engine turn, and did so with flair and poise that was unmatched in the league. Nash was simply an icon and a player whose greatness goes far beyond that box score.