Playboy Interview: Steve Nash

I he NBAs two-time MVP—soon to make it three?—is the lea.\l likely purple slur since Bar­ney, lie doesn't dunk, his bum link /ones him to he down during time-outs, atid he's from a country where basketball is a minor sport some­where between skiing and ice fishing. Still, the Phoenix Suns scrawny Canadian point guard manuges to keep up with Kobe, Shaq, I.eBron and the rest 0/ the league's dominators.

Bom in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his dad was a pro soccer player, Nash grew up in a family with a social conscience. The Nashes sn hated apartheid they moved to British (Columbia, where Steve became a soccer virtu­oso and did fnotie tricks with the ball. But since soccer and hockey were the big sports, noncon­formist Na.sh switched to hoops. With his pic­ture-perfect jump shot and superhuman court seme, he became the best high school player in Canada—which i.s like being the tallest rnunch-kin. lie got exactly one scholarship offer from a U.S. college: Santa Clara University, nobody's idea oj a basketball power.

After a million hours oj practice and 10 zil­lion gallons oj sweat, the consummate gym ral twice became West Coast Conference Player of the Year, averaging 17 points and six assists as a senior. Still, when the Suns drafted him in the first round in l()l)b (behind Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbuty and high schooler Kobe Bryant but ahead oj Jennaine O'Neal),

Phoenix fans booed the pick. Soon they booed Nash in person, and in 1998 the Suns traded him la Dallas. He became an All-Star for the Mavericks but courted controversy at the All-Star Came in 2003; Nash, who opposed the U.S. imia.sion of Iraq, wore a T-shirt reading xo ivah—shoot ton peace. Sports columnists howled, "Shut up and play!"

When Mans mimer Mark Cuban, who wanted to build a team around joncard Dirk NowitzJii, let Nash go the Jollowing year, Nash signed a six-year, $66 million deal with Phoenix. Ridicu­lous money, according to Cuban. Hut the point guard who got away has been the NBAs Ml P ever since. The year before Nash arrived, the Suns went 29-53. In the 2004-2005 season, with Nash leading an explosive, fast-breaking attack, they scored more points than any other team in a decade. With Nash averaging 15.5 points and a league-best 11.5 assists. Phoenix had the NBAs best record. Last year he stepped it up again: 18.8 points and 10. 5 assists a game, leading the Suns to the Western Confer­ence Finals and grabbing his second Maurice Podolof] trophy as league MVP.

With his long hair (shorn last summer— national news in Canada) and lady-killing looks, Nash has become a crossover star, an Mil' sort oj MI P who gets shout-outs in hit songs. We sent freelance writer Kevin Cook to meet him.

"Steve drives fast on and off the court," says

Cook. "We chatted courtside at the i'.S. Air­ways Center in Phoenix, then zipped in his black Mercedes C32 AMI', to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant downtown. I'd been told he turns down nine out 0/ 10 interviiii's. He said yes to this one because he knerv we'd talk about more than how the Suits match up against the rest oj the league. And we did. I have inter­viewed Bryant. Michael Jordan. Shaquille O'Neal and other NBA stars but never about Nelly Furtado. game-day sex and kicking soc­cer balls at (hren Wilson. We started with the basics and kept the pace quick."

PLAYBOY: Your Suns lost the past two Western Conference Finals. Can you do better this year?

NASH: For sure. Don't bet against us. We have to stay healthy and establish our rhythm: Push the ball up and score a lot of points.

PLAYBOY: If you were buying a ticket, who would you go to see? Pick a team other than the Suns.

NASH: You're putting me on the spot. Okay, 1 like teams that share the ball. Detroit, Miami. San Antonio, Dallas. They're excit­ing to watch and to play against. PLAYBOY: You're VS now, a 10-year vet­eran. How crucial is it lor you to win a title before you're through?

NASH: Not crucial. I won't kill myself if it never happens.

PLAYBOY: Is it more American to think you have to win or else? NASH: Yes, and I'm a Canadian who will not commit suicide if I don't win an NBA cham­pionship. But I'm sure gonna give it a go. PLAYBOY: Can you keep getting better? NASH: I'd like to be a better defender. But it's tough. I expend a lot of energy on offense, and I'm not big. PLAYBOY: The media guide says you're six-foot-three. How big a lie is that? NASH: I'm six-two. I'm not growing any taller, and at my age I can't just play defense all summer, which is the best way to improve—to guard guys. I tried to get a little stronger and quicker last summer.

but there aren t enough hours in the day, not enough recov­ery hours, for me to use up my body that way. My being healthy is a bigger priority for our team than my defense. PLAYBOY: We've all seen you lying on the baseline during time-outs. You've got spondy-lolisthesis, which is...? NASH: A vertebra that slips a milli­meter out of place. It's congenital but not degenerative. If it moves more millimeters out of place, I won't be able to play anymore, but lots of people have it. I don't see it as career-threatening. PLAYBOY: Did Mark Cuban? He said he loved you, then let you go from his Mavs to the Suns three years ago. NASH: He thought I was old and would physically break down. PLAYBOY: Was that more incen­tive for you?

NASH: Nah. I play because I love to play and want to win. I don't know where "breaking down" came from. In the end, it was about money.

PLAYBOY: Were you and Cuban friends?

NASH: Yes. We would e-mail each other and saw each other all the time. He's done a lot for his franchise and the league. In the grand scheme I respect him.

PLAYBOY: Take us behind the scenes. It's

2004, you just got an offer from the

Suns, and you'd promised to give Cuban

a chance to make a final offer. How did

you do that?

NASH: By phone. I was in Dallas with my

agent. Bill Duffy, at the home of a Suns

part owner. The Suns said, "We want you

to promise not to tell him what the offer

is. Just say it's a substantial one."

PLAYBOY: Six years and $66 million is

pretty substantial.

NASH: So I called Mark.

PLAYBOY: From the Suns' co-owner's

house?

NASH: Yeah. "The Suns have made me a

substantial offer," 1 said. I even cheated

a bit and told him it was close to another guy's salary, one he knew.

PLAYBOY: And Cuban said------

NASH: He said. "Oh fuck!" He was sur­prised. "Let me talk to Hun," he said. So I gave the phone to my agent. PLAYBOY: Cuban never came close to matching the Suns' offer. Here's a bil­lionaire who has happily spent millions to pay fines for ripping league officials. Were you surprised he made a stand about paying you $10 million a year? NASH: I was. He paid a lot of guys who never came close to living up to their con­tract. [The Mavs paid Alan Henderson $8.3 million for his 3.!> points per game that year and the following season paid Keith Van Horn $15.6 million for his 8.9.]

Ib draw the line on me, a guy who always

showed up and worked hard and was a

big part of the team's success—it hurt.

PLAYBOY: Cuban later said your agent

misrepresented (he Suns' offer, inflating

it to try to get more from Dallas.

NASH: That was spin.

PLAYBOY: Because he had to save face

alter lilting you go?

NASH: Yeah, he was going to take some

heat. It's all spin.

PLAYBOY: How did that affect your

friendship?

NASH: He was a friend. There were

other sides of him that weren't fun to

play for: yelling at referees, pouting in

the locker room. That was irritating.

But then, who's perfect?

PLAYBOY: Did you roll your eyes when lie hollered at the re Is? Did it make your job harder?

NASH: Well, rel's don't appreciate it. PLAYBOY: Do they take it out on the Mavs? NASH: \\'t>il(ltng\ They're human. PLAYBOY: Who did you first tell about going to the Suns?

NASH: Two teammates: Dirk Nowit/ki and Michael Kinley. PLAYBOY: Teammates before family? NASH: I could tell my family later. I wanted those guys to hear it trom me before they heard it on the news, to tell them it wasn't my wish. "1 don't want to go, but Cuban doesn't want me back." I said. And they were both with me. They said. "You nolta no."

PLAYBOY: Kinlev called you "our rock star." And now you keep turning up in hit songs. You're the MTV MVP NASH: kre/> turning up? PLAYBOY: In "Promiscuous," Nelly Kurlado sings. "Is that the truth, or are you talking trash?/Is your game MVP like Sieve Nash?"

NASH: Well, aside from the title. 1 love it. Nelly's great; I'm a Ian. We're from the same neighbor­hood in Victoria. British Colum­bia. It was sweet of her to put me in the song. It's not on my iPod, though. I'm too worried one of my friends will see it there and say, "Oh. who loves himself?" But if "Promiscuous" comes on the radio, 1 don't change the station. PLAYBOY: You Canadians slick together. Is that a conspiracy? NASH: We root for each other. Did you know there are fewer people in Canada than in Calilornia? PLAYBOY: You're also in the song "Get Km Daddy," by the rap­per Cam'ron. It goes like this: "I got weed hash, when I breeze past,/Breathe fast, eat ass, on point like Steve Nash." How does it feel to be rhymed with rm? NASH: I'm Haltered. I've never met Cam ion, but I love his songs. Thai's cool.

PLAYBOY: Your Mavs teammate linley said you were I lie coolest guy in the league. He called you Wolverine lor the way you slice and dice defenses and lor your I lugh Jac kman-likc effect on the ladies. NASH: I think he was joking. PLAYBOY: I'cmalc fans held up signs lh.il said makky Ml. WNll. How much fun was il to be I lie NBA's most eligible bachelor? NASH: Any young guy with money has a shot at a nice bachelor lifestyle. The NBA's no dillerent. You've got the most opportunities to meet women in the big cities: New York, L.A., Chicago and Miami—that's a fascinating town. Bui what do I know? I'm a lather of two. PLAYBOY: Not until two years ago. Any lips on lending oil NBA groupies?

NASH: The usual image of groupies lounging in hotel lobbies—I never saw that. The groupie knows where players go in a particular town, which restaurant or bar, and goes there looking for them. PLAYBOY: Kver meet one you could relate to—a well-read, politically aware groupie?

NASH: Nah. I'd remember that. Those don't grow on trees.

PLAYBOY: You were linked in the press with actress Elizabeth Hurley and tleri "Gin­ger Spice" Halliwell of the Spice Cirls. Did you link with them physically-' NASH: I met them both through mutual Iricnds. They seemed nice, but I didn't know them.

PLAYBOY: In 2005 you married your girl­friend, Alejandra Amarilla, the mother of your twin daughters. Did you propose with a big sign that said marry mf? NASH: No, no sign. We'd been living together for three years. It was time. She's from Paraguay. We met in New York, started dating and boom—together ever since. Our babies were eight months old when we married. PLAYBOY: Some athletes think sex saps their energy. What's your view of sex on game day?

NASH: I don't have a rule against it. I think you want to be spontaneous. Ninety-nine percent of the time it's not happening on a game day because you're in a routine that day; you're totally focused. But I don't make a law of it. "No sex on game day" is definitely not written on my bed. That would be too limiting. PLAYBOY: Let's fast-break through your formative years. Born in South Africa, moved with your family to British Colum­bia, where you grew up playing soccer. NASH: The first word 1 ever said was goal! But all my friends in eighth grade loved basketball, so I switched. It was an excit­ing, romantic time for the game, and I was swept up in it. The Showtime Lak­ers, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and my favorite player, Isiah Thomas. PLAYBOY: Point guard for Detroit's "Bad Boy" Pistons.

NASH: And Michael Jordan, who was new then. Air Jordan commercials definitely influenced my life.

PLAYBOY: Did your soccer background help you in hoops?

NASH: In soccer you have to see where everybody is all at once. In basket­ball it's called court sense. You really need it as a point guard, and for me it started in soccer. And there's some­thing else: Since you can't use your hands in soccer, you find creative ways to gel the ball to the right spot. Switch­ing to basketball made ballhandling a lot easier. I could use my hands! It was almost like cheating. PLAYBOY: You were the best high school basketball player in Canada. You wanted to play lor a big-time program in the U.S. but couldn't get a scholarship. Indi­ana and Duke rejected you. Who else?

NASH: You name 'em. My high school coach sent letters to 25 top schools. Nobody wanted me. I would have loved to go to the University of Washington, but there was zero interest. PLAYBOY: Von wound up at Santa Clara University. How did coach Dick Davey recruit you?

NASH: He said, "You're the worst defender I've ever seen." There was some truth to that. Compared with a lot of kids in the Slates, where the competition is better, I had a lot to learn. And he set the tone. He made it clear that if you played for him at Santa Clara, he wasn't going to kiss your ass. He was going to push you. PLAYBOY: After your junior season there, you were the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. You considered leav­ing school for the NBA draft. NASH: I explored it. It looked as if 1 might be a late first-round pick, but you can't be sure. It was safer to stay. PLAYBOY: Riskv. though. What if you'd been hurt during your senior year? NASH: 1 took out an insurance policy— for a million dollars. To get it I had to take a physical exam to show the insur­ance company I wasn't a career-ending injury just waiting to happen.

PLAYBOY: How did you pay for the policy? You were a college kid. NASH: I got a line of credit. The bank evaluated my earning potential; a mil­lion dollars seemed about right. PLAYBOY: You make that in a month now. What kind of student were you .11 Santa Clara?

NASH: Average. I definitely majored in basketball. There wasn't enough time or energy to excel on the court and in the classroom, at least for me. PLAYBOY: Why shouldn't college play­ers major in sports? It's hypocritical of the NCAA to pretend it's turning out scholar-athletes.

NASH: I agree. College sports is a huge industry. You could make different educational demands on athletes who are part of that billion-dollar money-making scheme.

PLAYBOY: While you were still in college you practiced with NBA stars |ason Kidd and Gary Payton. How did that come about?

NASH: I don't know if this incriminates me. but my agent had played at Santa Clara, and he represented |ason and Gary. It isn't legal, but he said, "You can work out with these guys." I went

to Gary's backvard. and we worked out. I went to a health club and worked out with Jason.

PLAYBOY: Payton was called the Glove, for his tight defense. Do other players call him that?

NASH: That's fan vernacular. Most of his friends call him G.P or Gary. PLAYBOY: How about you? You don't like the nickname Wolverine. NASH: Most guys call me Nashy or Steve-o. PLAYBOY: Are there any nicknames guys actually use?

NASH: Kevin Garnett is Big Ticket. Allen Iverson's the .Answer, but I would never, ever call him that. 1 call him .-Mien. And if 1 saw Stephon Marbury. I wouldn't say, "I ran into Starbury the other day," because I'd sound like a total cheeseball. PLAYBOY: In 1996 the Suns made you their first-round pick. 15th overall—the highest any Canadian had ever gone in the NBA draft. When the pick was announced. Suns fans booed. NASH: And I couldn't have cared less. Hey, I'd made the NBA! PLAYBOY: What did you buy with your NBA money?

NASH: Cars for my parents. And a big-screen home-entertainment center, also for my parents, because we had this lousy TV when I was growing up. The channel dial fell off. so we changed channels with a pair of tweezers.

PLAYBOY: In Phoenix you backed up .All-Star point guard Kevin Johnson. NASH: We went against each other in practice. One day he said, "You know what? You're as good as anybody I play against. You just don't know it yet." PLAYBOY: Was he right? NASH: [Sodding] I thought I could be good, but that gave me more belief. PLAYBOY: Did you call him K.J., like every­one else?

NASH: We called him K. PLAYBOY: A nickname for a nickname. NASH: Yeah, you want to get it down to one syllable if possible. Shawn Marion is Matrix because his game has special effects, so we call him Trix. PLAYBOY: .After two years Phoenix traded you to Dallas for three players and a first-round draft pick the Suns used to get Marion. You hurt your back, and Mavericks fans booed you. NASH: That helped me. I thought. Not many people get to have this experience. PLAYBOY: The thrill of being booed by thousands?

NASH: No, of having something to prove. Ii hurt, but what a great opportunity to fight through it and win them over. PLAYBOY: You're fierce for a Canadian. NASH: We're a pretty laid-back country. PLAYBOY: 1 lere's a joke: What does a Cana­dian sav when you step on his foot? NASH: Okay, what? PLAYBOY: He says, "Excuse me." NASH: That's not a joke. That's true. But you can be laid-back in life and fierce in your profession.

PLAYBOY: When you joined Mark Cuban's Mavs, you struck up a friend­ship with Nowitzki. who had just arrived from Germany. NASH: We got to camp the same day. We lived in the same apartment complex and both loved to work at our game, so we practiced together. The team's practice facility was open to the pub­lic most of the week. When the pub­lic players had the court. Dirk and I would use one of the side baskets. PLAYBOY: A bunch of lawyers and college kids kept you ofl the court? NASH: We didn't own the court, so we played horse on the side. PLAYBOY: School-yard rules"- Would you call a swish?

NASH: Sure. Call a swish, call a bank shot. I'd shoot runners to get a letter on Dirk, or I'd wear him down with threes. He might get me with mid-range jumpers.

PLAYBOY: In your years at Dallas you and Nowitzki were deadly on the pick-and-toll. Was that from endless practice or just good timing? NASH: Both. It's about reading the other

team—the bodies, the footwork. You get your man stuck on the pick, so the big man has to cover you; just when he steps toward you while the guard's trying to get back, that's your moment. With Dirk it was like telepathy.

PLAYBOY: You two are Western Confer­ence rivals now. Does he take il easy on you if you come through the lane? NASH: No. There are some hard elbows out there. I expect Shaq would be at the top of the list for elbow power. He's a strong man. I've avoided his elbows, but Karl Malone got me good. One of his elbows bent back my front teelh. Il took six or seven sessions in the den­tist's chair to fix that. PLAYBOY: Did you haze rookies? Does that still go on?

NASH: We make the rookies sing a song or carry our luggage. When I was a rookie in Phoenix, A.C. Green would kick the balls around at practice and say, "Rookie, go pick em up." PLAYBOY: Green was religious — tin-league's most famous virgin. He didn'i make you all become virgins? NASH: Well, you can't reverse virginity.

PLAYBOY: You can III law school Law students say if von studv so much von never have sex, vou become a common-law virgin.

NASH: Fortunately. I never went to law school.

PLAYBOY: How much game tape do von sludv?

NASH: I'll waich HI mmuies of tape, bin II gels old. 1 mean, who wants to be some kind ol* basketball machine? 1 put a lot into the game when we're plaving—men­tally and physically. When the game's over. I want to think about something else. 1 operate better that wav. Some aspects ol the pro game are no fun—the travel and the media demands—which is win I (urn down the vast majority of media requests. But the game itself, when you're out there plaving with vour leain-mates, that's as good as it gets I still love to play as much as when I was a kid. PLAYBOY: Which would you rather have, an assisl or a three-pointer? NASH: An assist. It involves more lhan one person.

PLAYBOY: You hate to pick up vour dribble—to slop dribbling—and have to pass or shoot. Why?

NASH: Picking up your dribble does the defense a favor. You can't go bv I hem anymore; they can smother vou. But if you keep your dribble alive, they have to constantly adjust. It's like in soccer—you want to keep moving forward, keep the pressure on.

PLAYBOY: Does game action seem to go faster lhan real life?

NASH: It might when you're a rookie. With experience you get calmer and the game slows down.

PLAYBOY: What makes for a great point guard?

NASH: I le needs to be intelligent and have his teammates' best interest at heart. He makes his team belter. He can see the whole court at once. |ohn Stockton was a great point guard. MagK |ohnson. Isiah Thomas. |ason Kidd. Chris Paul, last year's Rookie ol the Year, is a terrific young point guard. The (Kippers' Shaun Livingston could be a great one. PLAYBOY: How has the league changed in vour 10 seasons?

NASH: The rules have (hanged for the belter.

PLAYBOY: I he NBA has (in Killed the hand check and introduced the defensive three-second rule, which keeps defend­ers out of the lane Both changes helped ball handlers who could penetrate. NASH: They helped the game. Before that, teams would just isolate the two best players while everybody else stood around. Five-on-five's a better game, and these rules promote five-on-five PLAYBOY: Could vou have won two M\T awards without the new rules? NASH: I hev sure didn't hurt PLAYBOY: Michael Jordan used to taunt oihei players—he'd hit a jumper and (continued on page 122)

STEVE NASH

(continued jrom page 46) then say, "You want to see it again?" Who talks the most now?

NASH: Guys don't talk now. They yell to teammates but won't taunt an opponent, probably because there would be fights. Everybody takes things so personally. That's true in the culture, too. People are too sensitive, too easily offended. PLAYBOY: Were you offended when a few sportswriters said you had won your MVP awards over Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James because you're white?

NASH: They talked about racism. I said there might be rn'erse racism going on. PLAYBOY: You meant it may be harder for a white guy in the NBA. NASH: 1 didn't say it was the case. I said it was possible.

PLAYBOY: Eminem said that about hip-hop. He felt he had to prove himself twice over because he was white. Do you feel like a minority in your game? NASH: It's a black man's game. The numbers support that view. The ques­tion is. What does it mean to me? Noth­ing. The ball is orange. PLAYBOY: What about the league? Is the NBA worried about its image? NASH: The league is concerned. All businesses are concerned about their public image.

PLAYBOY: You took a political stand at the 2003 All-Star Game, wearing a T-shirt that read no war—shoot for peace. Opposing the invasion of Iraq seems awfully smart now. Do you feel vindicated? NASH: I don't need to feel vindicated about Iraq. Look, it's not about "I told you so." I just don't believe in aggres­sive war. Aggression should be a last resort. I didn't think we had done all we could to find weapons of mass destruction before launching an inva­sion. That's all. I wasn't being anti-American or anti-Bush. And I didn't say you have to believe what I believe. 1 just wanted everyone to try to be a little more informed, to dig a little deeper. PLAYBOY: You're not anti-Bush? NASH: 1 don't want to spend time being ami-anyone. But I don't necessarily agree with his politics.

PLAYBOY: What now? Are we still in Iraq only because there's no face-saving way out?

NASH: That seems clear. I think every-onr, even people who wanted to go to war. wishes there were a good way out. PLAYBOY: Are Americans more warlike than Ganadians?

NASH: I suppose. But then we don't have the means to go sticking our nose in everybody's business. We're just Canada. PLAYBOY: You stayed on message when you spoke to Santa Clara students last year on the day the school retired your number. "Dig deeper," you said. "Get involved in the world."

NASH: I remember being that age. You can get detached from the world. 1 wanted them to know they're part of this machine, this mechanism we call society. They've got to be more aware, more con­nected, because they've got a part to play locally, nationally and even globally. PLAYBOY: Doesn't sports distract people from all that?

NASH: Yeah, and not just sports. Enter­tainment has grown tenfold since my childhood. I didn't have the Internet, video games. DVDs, pay TV, satellite TV. Journalism isn't about issues anymore— it's entertainment too. PLAYBOY: Come on, we're talking issues in a magazine that's all about sober discus­sion of the issues and nothing else. NASH: We're all under that big entertain­ment umbrella. PLAYBOY: Give us an example. NASH: We can't swear anymore. As of this year, it's a technical foul. The league wants us to be as presentable as possible. And this can affect games—you get a technical and a $1,000 fine. PLAYBOY: You could Cubanize: You could say, "I don't care what it costs. Fuck it— I'm for free speech!" NASH: You have to pick your spots. I'd rather take that SI,000 and give it to charity than give it to the Man. PLAYBOY: That sounds very 1960s. Is there a list of verboten words? Can you say crap?

NASH: I don't know. But where do you draw the line? At what point does the game get so Leave It to Beaver that all the passion and personality go out of it? We're coming awfully close to finding out. PLAYBOY: You're not a suit-and-tie guy. When you rejoined the Suns, you wore golf shoes to the press conference. What do you think of the NBA dress code? NASH: It's unfortunate. We're grown men. But there are more important things to worry about. PLAYBOY: Bill Walton once called you the least athletic point guard in the NBA. Did you want to pop him one? NASH: As far as running and jumping, he's probably right. I think that's what he meant.

PLAYBOY: That's charitable of you. A lot of great athletes are motivated by grudges—they'll turn some mild criti­cism into a war. Jordan was like that. So is Tiger Woods.

NASH: That's not fun. I'd rather enjoy my career than go negative. PLAYBOY: True or false: Cuban screwed up by letting you go. NASH: [Grinning] He could have let some­one else go, for sure, but I don't have a grudge. Coming to Phoenix was best for me and my family. We love it here. PLAYBOY: You and your wife have twins, Isabella and l.ourdes. Nowit/ki is their godfather. Do your kids know what you do for a living?

NASH: They know 1 play basketball, but they're only two years old. They're not so

clear on the idea of a job. When thev see basketball on TV thev say. "Papa!" PLAYBOY: You shaved your head last year. and it made the news in Canada. Were your daughters shocked? NASH: I shaved it right in front of them. They laughed. "Still Papa!" PLAYBOY: Tell us about the ball At the beginning of the season, the NBA intro­duced a new synthetic basketball, ditch­ing the old leather one. Did the league consult (lie players? NASH: We had zero input. PLAYBOY: Ihe NBA consulted some ex-players but sprang the change on you. NASH: And it changed the game. Ii affected your timing. Not a lot but enough to make more turnovers, especially early in the season. The old leather ball had more touch to it—when it hit your hand or the backboard, it had a little give. The new ball hit the glass and went thud. When a pass was deflected, the ball didn't skip ofl a guv's hand; it just died.

PLAYBOY: The league said the new ball was more durable. Was it a problem that balls were wearing out during games? NASH: No. but if the new ball was better for the environment, I was okay with it. PLAYBOY: Come on! The new ball left little cuts in players' hands. Finally the league gave up and went back to the old leather model. You're telling us you'd be okay with that synthetic basketball? NASH: More than okay. If it's better for animals or the environment. I would back it.

PLAYBOY: Is it true you've never dunked a basketball?

NASH: No. I dunked a few limes in high school, just never in the NBA. PLAYBOY: Is dunking too aggressive for you?

NASH: It's just not part of mv game. And I don't jump as high as I did in high school.

PLAYBOY: What's the funniest moment you've had on court? NASH: Suns against Dallas, my first play-oil game back in Dallas after 1 signed with the Suns. My first shot. I went up for a three-pointer, and somehow my thumb caught in the drawstring of my shorts. I was trying to go up, but my thumb was stuck and I threw up this one-handed shot—air ball. PLAYBOY: You're known for your shooting form. Other than keeping your palm to the ceiling just before release, what's the key to a perfect jumper? NASH: The legs. Perfect technique up top won't help unless you propel the shot with your legs.

PLAYBOY: How about hygiene? When your hair is long, sportswriters call it long and unwashed. NASH: Wrong. I wash my hair every day. Donlyou?

PLAYBOY: We've talked for a couple of hours, and you're clearly uncomfortable. Are you itching to get back to practice?

NASH: It's my back. It's tough to sit in a < hair for too long.

PLAYBOY: Our bad—we should have done ihis King down. NASH: No. it's okay.

PLAYBOY: We'll finish fast. What's your ultimate goal"'

NASH: 1 don't know yet. To play till I'm not capable of playing anymore. PLAYBOY: How about coaching? NASH: That doesn't grab me. at least not vet. Charily, maybe.

PLAYBOY: What has been the best part of vour MVP run in Phoenix? NASH: My teammates. We've had .1 great time. There's real chemistry on this learn: jokes, friendships. For me. that's what lasts. You don't necessarily remember games, baskets and plays. You remember the bus. the plane, the locker room and being with your team-males. That's what makes it fun—that and the minutes on the floor. PLAYBOY: With you, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire. Phoenix has three super-Suns. Pick a winner in this year's NBA Finals.

NASH: I'm not psychic; there are a lot of factors. We've got to be healthy. Amare came into the season alter missing a

year, and our challenge was to work him back into the group. Now we have-to match up against the best the league can throw at us. Winning in the NBA is not a simple equation, so I'm not pre­dicting. Bin even if we don't win. we'll be fun in watch.

PLAYBOY: Does a gym rat like you fall asleep and dream of basketball? NASH: I do. Not every night but fre­quently. I'll dream I'm on the court with the ball in mv hand.

PLAYBOY: When Shai| did the l'ln\l»>\ Inter­view, he told us he dreamed he could IIy. NASH: \oi me. I just play as usual. PLAYBOY: Is the dream realistic r You're in a Suns uniform, looking for Stoiidemire breaking lor the basket"' NASH: Yes, but I'm...slink. You know how sometimes you know what to do bin can't do it?

PLAYBOY: You're paralv/ed. NASH: Yeah. I know what I he play is. bin I can't gel the lull out of mv hand. PLAYBOY: Freudian shrinks are hereby invited to interpret this dream. NASH: It's insecurity, probably.

PLAYBOY: Bui you're a celebrity now------

NASH: Oh. please.

PLAYBOY: Time magazine named you

one ol i In- world's 100 iiuki influ­ential people. I here w.is .1 partv lot vou: Oprah. Bono. llill.ir\ Clinton. I lit1 pope Ccorge Clooncv. I hi' Oimc Chicks. Sieve Nash... NASH: ll w;is nice (o hi- in tin1 top 100. hill I ncM'r got an invil.ition to I In- p.utv. Mavhc I'm nol that inlluinli.il PLAYBOY: Charles Hal klev wrote vour short hio lor linn1, saving how marvel­ous you are.

NASH: 1 was surprised and Haltered. Charles is great: an unhelievahle plaver. an entertainer, a guv who's not afraid to he lumsell.

PLAYBOY: What ahoul his right-wing politics?

NASH: I in sick ol evervonc being so par­tisan. He's right, vou're left—that's part of the prohlem. We should address e.u li issue on its merits and stop lighting over right and It-It.

PLAYBOY: You made a funnv m\ lor IN I. Berkley's network, with Sacha Baron Cohen. Were you an Ali (1 fan? NASH: I luge. 1 was watching him on Brit­ish TV helore hi- was on 11 HO. before he was Boral. The TNT ad was a good time, but ol course he got a little edgv lor INI. and some of the best stiill never appeared. At one point he turned to me and said. "Did you ever let one ol your plums tail out ol your shorts to distract the opposi­tion?" That never made the commercial. PLAYBOY: Owen Wilson's another famous buddy of youi s.

NASH: Owen's a fantastic gu\. a Pallas guy—we met when 1 was with the Mav­ericks. We've gone out for a drink a min­or two. And we play soccertemns. PLAYBOY: Soccer and tennis? NASH: No, soccertennis. It's Owen's game: kicking a soccer ball around on a tennis court, with tennis rules. Vou kic k the ball to serve. It's tricky PLAYBOY: Hut vou're the soccer king. Do vou charge the net and do an upside-down scissor-kick vollcv? NASH: Not vet. I've tried knot king vollevs oil my head, but I'm not too good at it. Owen's good—he heat me the last time we played, and 1 want a remaK li. Wi­nced to set up a soc< crlcnnis showdown to settle this once and lor all PLAYBOY: At one point your cell phone ringliine was the national anthem "() Canada ' Have vou changed it to "Pro­miscuous?

NASH: I i hanged it to vibrate. PLAYBOY: Close enough. And now lli.il you're a celeb, you must have celebritv friends on speed dial. Wilson. I'urtado. Nowit/ki...

NASH: Sure. I've gol friends in mv phone, hut I'd hale to list them line PLAYBOY: You wont give us luilado's phone number.'

NASH: (June on — I've probably iiiinr at loss as a big enough i heeseball in this interview.

A candid conversation with the NBA's unlikely two-time MVP about had hacks, Mark Cuban, reverse racism and xvhy Canadians are so /aid-hack

Who wants to be some kind

of basketball machine? I put

a lot into the game when

we're playing. When the

game's over, I want to think

about something else.