Sports & Recreation Basketball
Steve Nash
The Unlikely Ascent of a Superstar
- Publisher
- Random House of Canada
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2014
- Category
- Basketball, Sports, Sociology of Sports
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780307359483
- Publish Date
- Sep 2014
- List Price
- $22.95
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Description
From the authors of the national bestseller Leafs AbomiNation, the story behind the unpredictable success of an NBA great. With a new afterword for the paperback edition.
A small man in a big man's game, a white man in a game dominated by black men, a rare Canadian in a US-based industry, the unlikely rise of Steve Nash from Victoria high school to Hollywood hardwood is compelling proof that great things await those who refuse to accept less of themselves. Nearing the end of a nearly 2-decade Hall of Fame-bound career, Nash is a 2-time MVP, an 8-time all-star and wearer of one of the league's top-selling jerseys. And no one but Nash saw it coming.
With the combination of wit and comprehensive reporting that distinguished Leafs AbomiNation, Feschuk and Grange tell the extraordinary story of drive, confidence, commitment and learning to do without that post-game beer that turned an improbable NBA dream into the stuff of sporting legend. They convincingly bust a host of oft-repeated myths. That Nash has been an inferior athlete is one: he might have been one of the best athletes in the world, when factors like coordination, vision, balance and work ethic are given weight alongside size, speed and power. The myth that he overcame his upbringing in Canada to make it in the NBA is another: Growing up in Victoria, B.C., in the mid-1980s was more likely why he turned into the player he did.
Revealing, playful and a perfect read for any sports fan, Steve Nash is the inspiring story of the consummate athletic outlier.
About the authors
Michael Grange is a sports reporter and on-air personality for Sportsnet, as well as an award-winning magazine writer who has written for the New York Times and ESPN.
Editorial Reviews
“Sharp and insightful…. This book does a more than credible job of capturing the particular genius of Steve Nash.”
—Times Colonist
“The details of the patriotic overtures…are fascinating…. [O]n the radar of most BC hoops fans.”
—The Province
“The writing is compelling…. Interviews with coaches and teammates, as well as Nash himself, add depth and perspective.”
—Publishers Weekly
"The bio piece brings Nash's start in Victoria back to life with new relevance, with a revisionist approach based on modern sports science.... The authors unearth telling data through interviews with legendary Vikes coach Ken Shields and 1980s Vikes player Ian Hyde-Lay."
—Victoria News