Steve Nash: 'There are heroes everywhere in this Spurs side'

NBA legend and die-hard Spurs fan Steve Nash hailed the ‘phenomenal’ progress we’re making on and off the field when he checked in at Hotspur Way last week.

One of basketball's all-time greats, twice named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (‘MVP’ in 2005 and 2006 with Phoenix Suns) and selected eight times for the NBA’s All-Star Game in a career spanning the Suns, Dallas Mavericks and LA Lakers, Steve is no stranger to the Club.

Having originally linked up with our players under George Graham for a training session all the way back in 1999 when he was a point guard for the Mavericks, Steve has been fortunate enough to join Mauricio and our current charges on the training pitch in 2014 in Toronto and again in October, 2016, at Hotspur Way, taking part in some ball work and getting to know the lads in their professional working environment.

Back this time for a sponsor’s promotion, Steve took the opportunity to speak out about his pride at the way the team has been performing during our season at Wembley – and his excitement at our move into our magnificent new stadium.

“The players and coaching staff have been phenomenal,” he said. “Obviously we had a big heartbreak against Juventus but largely we were the better side, so there’s lots to go on but that’s football, that’s life. You’ve got to rebound and you can’t listen to some of the easy punditry. We know this project is moving in an incredible direction and at an incredible rate with largely a very young squad. The players just keep getting better and better and the results prove it.”

So who has caught Steve’s eye on the pitch of late?

“It’s hard not to love Harry Kane,” he smiled. “I’ll argue with anyone that he’s a top five or six player in the world because he just does so many things for his team beyond scoring all those goals in the last calendar year. He’s phenomenal, but if you look around the team there’s heroes everywhere – Vertonghen, Hugo, Dele, who is quietly coming on and setting up tons of goals, Sonny has been unbelievable, obviously Mousa Dembele has been incredible in the middle of the park, Ben Davies has been outstanding so there are so many players doing a good job. The manager has got them all peaking and playing well and growing into themselves, so it’s a pleasure to watch.

“I’m really proud to be a Spurs supporter and really proud of the staff, the players and everyone here that tries to give the Club the best opportunity to succeed because we’re seeing the growth and it’s fantastic.”

On his way to our state-of-the-art Training Centre, Steve caught a glimpse of our 62,000-seater new stadium under construction and was blown away by what he saw.

“It’s imposing, it’s incredible!” he beamed. “It’s a world-class stadium and it in no small occurrence happens to be on the old White Hart Lane grounds, so that’s incredible. To have a massive project that’s world-class and be able to keep it where it was in our familiar neighbourhood and territory, that’s not something that’s easy to do in this day and age with the world changing so quickly and London growing so fast, so it’s a real bonus for all of us and for the Club and I really appreciate the Chairman doing all he can to see this vision through.

“One of the great things as a fan is to see that there are some details that have gone into the stadium to really keep the atmosphere. It’s so important because so many stadiums come to look like just another stadium, no matter how amazing they are, whereas this one has got some character and details and it’s going to keep its intimacy with the angles of the fans and the stands. It’s going to keep the noise in, make it really tight and give it that Premier League atmosphere so it’s going to be a real joy to watch our team play on that incredible pitch and as a fan I can’t wait to get over there when it’s all said and done.”

Retired as a basketball player for close to three years now, Steve has plenty going on in his life around watching our matches from across the Atlantic.

“I still live in Los Angeles, I have a content creation company that I work on daily, I have four kids now and I’m busy with all their activities, I consult for the Golden State Warriors and I have an ownership stake in Real Mallorca Football Club where I’ll be going in a couple of days to check in on our staff and players, plus a small stake in the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS,” explained the 44-year-old.

“I love my football, I still try to play twice a week and I’m just trying to work on a few projects on the side as well. As a very, very passionate and addicted, obsessive Tottenham fan, to get the access I’ve had here is maybe the greatest perk of my professional basketball career!”