Amar'e Stoudemire fumbled the ball after a 'perfect' pass from Steve Nash, and Nash took the blame, leaving younger players wondering why he did it.
When Goran Dragic arrived in the NBA, he joined an already formidable Phoenix Suns team headlined by Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire. He now shared a story of how the team operated during practices at the time.
Heading into the 2008-09 season, the Suns were coming off a 55-win season. They had fired head coach Mike D'Antoni, who was the architect of the famous 7-second offense.
During one of the practices, Dragic saw how Steve Nash, a two-time NBA MVP at the time, operated to instill confidence in teammates following an early playoff exit the previous season.
"I still remember it like it was yesterday. He was playing pick-and-roll, and he made a bounce pass to Amar'e Stoudemire. It was a perfect pass. Amar'e fumbled the ball, he didn't catch the ball," Dragic began telling the story during the 'I love Slovenia Night of the Dragon' business talk.
"Steve was like, 'Hey, it was a bad pass, my fault, my fault.' Me and LB, Leandro Barbosa, looked at each other and were like, 'That was a perfect pass!'" Dragic laughed. "I understand now - he wanted his teammate to feel comfortable, to have a lot of confidence, and that was one of the best qualities of Steve."
Nash emphasized the value of being a good teammate, and Dragic thanked the former league superstar for helping him grow up to be one of the better players at his position.
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