Steve Nash Credits Steph Curry for Pushing Him into Retirement
On a recent episode of the Mind the Game podcast, Steve Nash shared a story with LeBron James and Steph Curry about the moment he realized his NBA career was ending—with Curry playing a key role.
The Defining Moment in the 2014 Preseason
The event took place during the 2014-15 preseason when Nash's Los Angeles Lakers faced the Golden State Warriors in Ontario, California. The Warriors dominated the game, putting up 39 points in the first quarter and winning decisively, 116–75.
- Curry scored 12 points in the opening two and a half minutes and ended with 25 points in just 24 minutes.
- Nash, already struggling with back problems, found himself unable to keep up with Curry’s speed and agility around screens.
“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,” Nash explained.
Realization and Retirement Decision
Just days after the game, Nash came to accept that his playing days were over.
“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!”
In July 2014, Nash had already announced that the upcoming season would be his last. However, he was sidelined early by his recurring back injury, appearing in only three preseason games before being ruled out for the entire season on October 23, 2014, less than a week before the regular season began.
He never returned to play in another NBA game.
Summary
Steve Nash humorously credits Steph Curry's dominance in a 2014 preseason game as the final push that made him realize it was time to retire from the NBA due to injury and physical limits.