National Basketball Association

Redick: Nash is one of 'top-5 greatest point guards of all time'

Published Oct. 24, 2014 5:59 p.m. ET

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Steve Nash is well-respected around the NBA, especially in Los Angeles. The Clippers had plenty of high praise for the Lakers guard who won’t play this season because of a back injury.

"He's one of the best," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "He reminds me a lot of Isaiah (Thomas) and (Dave) Stockton, the smaller point guards that had big hearts and did a lot of stuff. Back-to-back MVP at his size is just amazing. I think he did a lot of things for the game. The great ones, to me, they make the game different.

"Nash did that with his movement, being that aggressive scorer but also a facilitator, finishing under the rim. He just made the game different. You watch people come behind him and they start trying to do that, play like him. That means he was special. He was a special player. It's really sad. But he's 40 years old. What the hell does he expect? I look at it that way too. He’s had a great career. Obviously, a first-ballot, Hall of Fame career. That's the way we should look at it."

Clippers guard JJ Redick played in only 35 regular season games last year, and he knows how frustrating that was for him.

Redick feels for Nash, who is dealing with the news that he's out for the season -- before it even began.

"I feel really bad for him, but, he's a guy that extracted the most out of his career and out of his potential," Redick said. "He's one of the, probably, Top 5 greatest point guards of all time. He's an obvious Hall of Famer."

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Redick is appreciative that the Nash has helped him since the two have been on NBA teams in Los Angeles.

"(He's) someone I've gotten to know last couple of years. He's been great with me," Redick said. "I've picked his brain a few times. We had a little meeting before I went back to Austin for the summer in May. He sat with me for an hour and a half let me pick his brain.

"I know how much he wants to play, that's for sure. He made that very clear to me and I'm sure he’s made that clear to all the people around him how much he loves playing, and that's where I feel for him. He's a guy that just loves to play. To not be able to do it is sad."

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