Steve Nash appeared on the All The Smoke podcast last week, and he took time to talk about his epic battles with the Sacramento Kings nearly 20 years ago.
Former NBA MVP Steve Nash was a guest on the All The Smoke podcast last week, and among the topics discussed was his time with the Dallas Mavericks and their playoff runs. Host Matt Barnes asked Nash about the 2002 season in particular in which they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves but lost to the Sacramento Kings.
Nash laid down some praise for our boys in purple and the building they used to play in.
The Kings and the Mavericks had some epic battles during the early part of the millennium. Sacramento was victorious in the 2002 playoff series on their way to the Western Conference Finals, but it was Dallas who got the best of the Kings the next season.
The 2003 Kings team was thought to be the best version of those Rick Adelman-led squads, but Chris Webber suffered a knee injury that changed his career and the course of history for Sacramento. The Mavericks would beat the Kings in seven games.
Nash referred to them as “Those Rick Adelman teams,” and then went in to detail about what it was like to play in those epic series.
"“Great guards obviously, Mike Bibby and Doug Christie. Peja was maybe their best player at different times during that run. But the passing of Vlade and C-Webb was unbelievable for two big guys. It allowed them to play the game in a way that was so rare and so difficult to defend, because that ball just moved …they’d space the floor and make you pay with back cuts or threes. It was beautiful.”"
It wasn’t just their offense that Nash was impressed with. He pointed out how tough the Kings defensive scheme was, and how Adelman used Christie in particular.
Nash wraps up his Kings-related chatter with a shout out to our beloved ARCO Arena.
"“Sacramento was an incredible place to play. The building felt like it was falling down, but the energy in there was incredible.”"
We remember it well, Steve.
For continued coverage of the Sacramento Kings, stay tuned to A Royal Pain.