Garnett, Nash are favorites among NBA All-Star peers

Wed Feb 20 10:22:34 CST 2008

Garnett, Nash are favorites among NBA All-Star  peers

(http://x.go.com/cgi/x.pl?goto=http://search.espn.go.com/keyword/search?searchString=ja_adande&name=SEARCH_m_archive&srvc=sz)     
By J.A. Adande
ESPN.com

Kevin Garnett and Steve Nash may not have NBA championship  rings adorning 
their fingers yet, but at least they have each other as  company, along with the 
respect of their peers from around the league.  

Ask the same question over and over, and sometimes the responses add up to a  
completely new answer. 
I asked 15 of the All-Star Weekend participants whom they would want to see  
get a championship ring, other than themselves. Their responses showed players 
 value the same things the fans do: effort, dedication and teamwork. 
It didn't surprise me that the winner was _Kevin Garnett_ 
(http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3007) . He is beloved and respected around 
the  league. But I wasn't prepared for such a slim margin of victory or the 
identity  of the runner-up: _Steve Nash_ 
(http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3103) . You don't see people rushing to say they  are big 
fans of his, much the same way people don't voluntarily say they love  Lionel 
Richie songs, but they definitely don't change the radio station when he  comes 
on. 
Nash himself was surprised. 
"I didn't know they cared," he said. 
Garnett, meanwhile, appeared to be genuinely moved. 
"That's shocking, actually," he said. "It feels great. It feels good to know  
that the people you play against or people you battle against actually have a 
 level of respect or appreciation for certain things. That says a lot. It 
says a  lot about the class and the character of this league." 
Garnett received six votes to Nash's five.  
Others receiving votes were: 
• _Jason Kidd_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=2625)  
("He's an unbelievably great player; guys  like that, you want to see them 
have success," _Dwyane Wade_ 
(http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3708)  said.) 
• _Allen Iverson_ 
(http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3094)  (_Chauncey Billups_ 
(http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3174)  put the guard on the top of his  list.) 
• _Ray Allen_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3080)  
("He always conducted himself as a  professional on and off the court," said 
fellow UConn alum _Caron Butler_ 
(http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3608) .) 
There was one notable abstention in the voting: the ultra-competitive _Kobe 
Bryant_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3118) . "If it 
ain't us, I don't care," Kobe  said. 
Here are the explanations from the voters, first for runner-up Steve  Nash: 
_Jason Kapono_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3734) : 
"I like the way he goes about things.  He's a great player, a great teammate. 
You never hear anything bad about him. I  would love to see him get a chance 
to win it. He's done so much for the game.  The way he goes about playing, he 
just keeps getting better and better each and  every year. To go from a guy 
who was on the Phoenix Suns early on in his career  and wasn't getting any time, 
to one of -- if not the -- best players in the  game, just speaks to what 
kind of guy he is, the work ethic that he has." 
_Brandon Roy_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=4134) : 
"What he represents on the floor is just  team basketball. He plays the game 
the right way. You want to see that rewarded.  I would definitely like to see 
him win a championship. He's definitely faster  and he's smaller, but the way 
he plays the game, I try to approach it the same  way. When I watch him and I 
watch his heart and his fire, you definitely want to  pull for a guy like 
that." 
_Tim Duncan_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3173) : 
"Can I go with nobody? That's not an  option? Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing 
Phoenix do it. Steve's been incredible  for many years. He just hasn't been 
able to get over the hump for one reason or  another. As good as he is, I'd love 
to see him win it." 
_Dwight Howard_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3818) 
: "I guess Steve Nash. He's got two MVP  trophies. They've been winning 50, 60 
games for a while now. They've been so  close every year, and I know if that 
was me, I would want all the support I  could get from people." 
_Chris Bosh_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3707) : 
"He's won two MVPs; I'm sure he'd like to  get some extra hardware." 
Now for the winner, KG: 
_Deron Williams_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3929) 
: "I'm a big fan of his. I've been a fan  since I was young. Just the way he 
plays the game, the passion. I would like to  see him win one." 
Allen Iverson: "All the hard work and dedication that he put in, you want to  
see a guy like that get it. He's a team player. He's a great basketball 
player.  And I'm cool with him, also." 
_Carlos Boozer_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3632) 
: "After the Utah Jazz, if we don't win  one, I would like to see KG win one, 
just because I'm a crazy KG fan. Growing up  watching him, playing against 
him, he brings it every night, always passionate  about the game. Just one of 
those guys that, as a basketball fan, you want to  see him win championships. But 
that's only if we get eliminated, and we're not  going to get eliminated, 
baby." 
_Chris Paul_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3930) : 
"Every time we play against each other,  since I've been in the league, we 
almost get into it. I think it's just that  competitive nature. But I don't think 
anybody in the league plays with as much  emotion and passion as KG. When I 
watch him playing, I see myself in that he  doesn't want to lose. I'd definitely 
want to see someone like that win a  championship, because I know he deserves 
it and he's worked hard for it." 
_Carmelo Anthony_ 
(http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3706) : " Out of all the guys in the NBA, he's  been doing it for a long, long 
time. Right now, he has a shot at it. He put a  lot of years in this league, day 
in and day out. A lot of minutes, a lot of  work. I just want to see him 
rewarded." 
_Antawn Jamison_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3247) 
 cast the deciding vote, but only after  he was forced to make a decision. 
"Steve taught me a lot," said Jamison, who played with Nash in Dallas. "He  
accepted me with open arms, and he wanted me to be successful. I'm a firm  
believer the reason I got the sixth man of the year award is because of him. I  
would really like to see him get one because of the type of person he is. 
"And KG, we've been battling since high school. I love his passion for the  
game of basketball. I love what he represents. The guy has been through a lot.  
It would be nice to see him hold the trophy up and get the credit that he  
deserves as well." 
You have to choose one. NBA Finals, Celtics versus Suns, Game 7, one of them  
hits the winning shot. 
"Ahhh, man," Jamison said. "Seven games? I don't know, man … 
"I'll say KG. Of course, you want to see the winner come out of the  
conference you play in." 
And now we see the hidden benefit of Garnett's trade to the Celtics. Not only 
 does he have a better shot at a championship, he has one more person rooting 
for  him to get it. 
J.A. Adande is the author of "The Best Los Angeles Sports Arguments." He  
joined ESPN.com as an NBA columnist in August 2007 after 10 years with the Los  
Angeles Times. Click _here_ 
(http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/mailbagESPN?event_id=16861)  to e-mail  J.A.

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