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Former teammates and coaches have praised Steve Nash immensely since he was hired as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Generally, they’ve brought up his basketball IQ and his focus on relationship building, two crucial elements to being a successful head coach in the NBA.
But there’s another side of Nash that’s important to note. The side opponents saw more than anything else — something that could help the Nets cruise through the Eastern Conference.
“Underneath the Hollywood smile, the hair and the dope conversation is a killer. He’s a competitor, bruh,” former Brooklyn Nets big man Kevin Garnett told Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “I can remember him never quitting. I can remember him always coming back. I can remember him getting his nose broke and still going. Steve’s a [expletive] fighter, man. He’s one of them guys you want in the trenches with you.
“There’s only but so many people that you want in the trenches with you, that’s gonna fight back and be right there with you, and Steve’s one of them people. I always remember him being a fierce competitor under all that brashness and all that polish.”
Garnett does think there were other candidates with coaching experience who could’ve been a good fit for the job, including several Black candidates. But, he also expressed to Winfield the Nets could “possibly take over New York” with Nash and their loaded roster.