Steve Nash headed back to All-Star Game

Earlier this month Steve Nash became the Suns all-time leader in assists. Thursday he was named a Western Conference All-Star reserve for the sixth time.

Nash equaled Walter Davis’ franchise record with his sixth appearance as a Sun, eighth overall.

The 38 year-old point guard joins Hall-of-Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Karl Malone as the only four players to have achieved All-Star selections at age 38 or older.

“It’s a great honor,” Nash said. “I was flattered and humbled.” 

Always the center of trade speculation, Nash was averaging 15.1 points and an NBA-best 10.1 assists entering Thursday’s game against the Rockets. He is on pace to lead the league in assists for the sixth time in his career.

“It’s a catch-22,” Phoenix head coach Alvin Gentry said. “He definitely deserves it, but I would love to have those eight days [over the All-Star break] for him to rest.”

Nash is also among the league leaders in field goal percentage (.559 entering Thursday’s game) which ranks sixth, first among guards. In the history of the NBA, only ten guards have shot better than 55 percent from the floor and none have accomplished the feat past age 30. He is also in the top ten in three-point percentage, hitting over 45 percent from beyond the arc.