Friday, January 05, 2007 Sayson: My interview with Steve Nash By Homer Sayson Secondovertime
CHICAGO - Shortly after his team tamed the Bulls, 97-96, the other night, Steve Nash slumped his 195-pound frame on a varnished wooden bench inside the visitors’ locker room of the United Center.
The Suns had just plucked victory from the jaws of a 16-point deficit, but the amazing escape act exhausted the reigning back-to-back MVP. It was late, 10:20 pm, and Nash was anxious to rest.
Still, the NBA’s leading playmaker (11.3 assists per game) mustered the strength to comply with his required media availability session. I was among those who spoke to the 32-year-old superstar.
Nash has spondylothisthesis, a medical condition which forces “a forward movement of one of the vertebrae in relation to one below it, causing muscle tightness and back pain.” It was therefore no surprise that when he spoke to us, a bag of ice was taped tight at his lower back.
The 6-foot-3 guard hunched as he sat. His faded jeans, with its thick leather belt still unbuckled, hung loosely below the waistline, revealing the gray edges of a black Calvin Klein underwear.
Before he married his longtime girlfriend, a Paraguayan beauty named Alejandra Amarilla, Nash was linked to smokin’ hot babes such as former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and actress Elizabeth Hurley.
From up close, it was easy to see why Nash attracts gorgeous women the way lights mesmerize moths. He has dashing good looks, an impish smile, a wealth of sandy blond hair. And his charisma is seductively electric.
Circled by reporters in that locker room, Nash was barefoot and naked from the waist up, exposing a v-shaped chest full of hair. He had the muscle tone of a thoroughbred, and his skin glistened like the pages of a fashion magazine.
A lady reporter, the only rose among the thorns, idled by Nash’s left side. Petite and white as a glass of milk, she clutched a tape recorder and wore a happy smile. I thought I saw her drooling over Nash.
“They played hard and their bigs stayed with me longer,” said Nash of the Bulls, who defended the Suns’ pick-and-roll exceptionally well. The Bulls defense also held Nash to 11 points and forced Phoenix to shoot just 41.4 percent from the field.
As more reporters came, Nash peeled a silver-colored pack of Apex nutrition cookie. He took tiny bites in between questions, while a Gatorade nutrition shake, sweating cold in a green aluminum can, rested harmlessly beside his right foot.
He was pleased with Amare Stoudamire, who is slowly regaining his All-Star form after micro-fracture surgery on his left knee. “He had some big moves out there and he gave an outstanding effort for us, said Nash of his teammate’s 24-point, 18-rebound masterpiece.
I told Nash that he had a lot of Filipino fans. “Wow. Really?” he shot back with a gaze of wonderment. “Do you have plans to visit the Philippines?” I lobbied. “I’ve always wanted to see the world, so yes, maybe someday,” replied Nash, a Canadian citizen born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The talks then switched to his hair, which had now been cropped short, army-style. For a while, especially during his Maverick days with Dallas, it used to be so long and furry, flapping wildly against the wind every time he engineered a fast-break.
“Your famous hair had become a sort of patent. How hard was it to part with?” I asked. He laughed a bit and said “my hair has always been short most of my life, so it was easy. But my wife didn’t want it cut.”
I was the only scribe left when Nash laced on a pair of walking shoes. He put on a necklace of dog tags, wore a white long-sleeved pullover shirt, and topped it with a yellow-and green knit sweater. He then signed a bunch of jerseys for charity, before walking out of the locker room with me.
In his 11 years in the NBA, Nash has thrown over 5,325 assists. But the one he gave me Tuesday night—a pose for a photograph which sits gloriously beside this column today—is the gem I like the most. I will treasure it for many years to come.
I still think the Spurs will win the West this season. But what the heck, go Suns!
