The end may have finally come for 2-time NBA MVP Steve Nash.
The Lakers confirmed that their 40-year-old point guard will miss the entire 2014-15 season due to recurring nerve damage in his back.
Nash is in the last year of his contract, and he had said previously that this season - the 19th of his career - would be his last. In March, when there was talk about Los Angeles using the stretch provision on his contract (paying him $3 million over three years instead of the $9 million he's owed in the last year of his contract), he said, "That would be it. I'll either be back here or I'll be done."
However, Nash has yet to formally announce his retirement, although we wouldn't be surprised if that was coming soon. He may also decide to take the year off to heal his body and try to come back next season, which also wouldn't be a stretch considering how much Nash loves the game.
Yet it's becoming harder to ignore that his body is failing him. Two weeks ago, he hurt his back again by carrying bags. Last year, he hurt it getting out of bed.
Nash was defying age as little as two years ago when he made the All-Star team at age 38, but he's never been fully healthy during his time in Los Angeles.
Lakers executives had been optimistic about Nash's health this year because of how fresh he looked in off-season workouts, but he only appeared in one preseason game.
Nash ranks first in league history in free throw percentage (90.4), third in assists (10,335), and is one of 10 players in NBA history to win consecutive MVP awards.
Jeremy Lin will take over as the starting point guard for the Lakers with Nash gone.
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