Photographing Steve Nash for the NBA ALL Star Weekend

I figured it was timely to finally post some of my shots from an event I photographed back in February 2016, which featured Steve Nash. Since the NBA Championships are now center stage, it reminded me of the only basketball star that I have photographed. This was at the NBA All Star Event in Toronto. Steve Nash is a Canadian retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He was an eight-time NBA All-Star and a seven-time ALL-NBA selection. Twice, Nash was named the NBA Most Valuable Player while playing for the Phoenix Suns. He currently serves as general manager of the Canadian national team and as a player development consultant for the Golden State Warriors. Yes, I just copied and pasted the last two sentences from Wiki.

Salesforce Canada hosted a luncheon as part of this All Star event, whose key note speaker was Steve Nash. The event was held at Cactus Club in downtown Toronto. I knew little about this man before photographing and meeting him. I knew he was ‘big’, and recently retired, and I was curious to hear him speak. One thing I love about my job is that I get to listen to many talented and motivated individuals, and hear about their unique experiences. MC for the event was Mark Strong, and he asked Steve a bunch of questions, which pertained not just to basketball, but more about his personal opinions on sports and his life in general. Having two young boys myself, it was interesting listening to Steve Nash’s perspective about sports and young athletes. He has three children, twin girls (age 10) and a boy (age 5).

He gave thought provoking answers regarding kids and sports today. One often assumes that he must have been hard core, playing on teams from an early age, in order to reach his level of success in basketball (he ended up choosing basketball over soccer, as apparently he was amazing at both). The crowd quickly learned that these assumptions were far from the truth. In his own words (I may have a word or two wrong, but this is as close as I can remember); “I always tell people, I reached the level of success in basketball that I did, due to two things- 90% playing freestyle outdoors with kids in the neighborhood and by myself in the backyard, and the other 10% due to practice”.

Mr. Nash went on to state that if his parents had forced him to be part of an organized sports team at a young age, by lugging him to weekly practices and games, as many parents do today, that he does not believe he would have reached the same level of success or passion. He firmly believes that it was his many years of playing basketball and soccer with kids in the neighborhood, that taught him to develop his skills and become creative at his own pace. This method only increased his passion, rather than being told by a coach to play a specific way on an organized team.

In short, he believes today’s common family practices of rigid team sports and constant scheduled extracurricular activities in our young children may be hindering, not helping them, to reach their full potential. A valid point and observation.

MC MARK STRONG

He spoke in a very kind, non judgmental way, but honest and open, as obviously guests there hoped to learn and hear his viewpoints. He was careful to state that his opinions are just that, and that he was not criticizing. His approach of speaking was neither pushy nor offensive. I am not sure what I expected, but I did enjoy listening to him speak.

After the occasion, he took group shots with many Salesforce clients there, and signed a bunch of photos. I normally don’t ask for photos with those I just photographed, but in this case I did. Why? I just thought he was a nice guy and I respected his words. I chatted with him for a bit, and mentioned that I read he had three kids. He told me a bit about them, and when I mentioned I have two little boys, he excitedly responded ‘Boys are awesome!”. You can feel his passion for kids, as he seemed enthusiastically overjoyed to hear I was raising boys. You can read more about Steve Nash’s kids charity here- https://stevenash.org/. He definitely is a man who has given back and does not take his success for granted.

Salesforce photographer and top toronto photographer

Steve with Marketing Director of Salesforce, Shirley Wright.

Salesforce puts on a great event!

What else did I learn about Steve Nash in the hour I was with him? He is close to his family and has a great love and appreciation for his parents. He also brings up his three kids often when talking. I respected that he admitted to the crowd at times even feeling a bit lost now, since he no longer plays professional sports full time. He mentioned that this new stage in life is something he is evaluating, as he, like many of us, are figuring out ‘what is next’. What am I meant to do? How can I make a difference? What stage is next? What can I learn?

I learned that he is a humble and grateful person trying to figure it out like the rest of us, and it was a pleasure sharing in this tiny part of his journey.

Below is a shot of Steve and I after the event.