In a month where Kanye West further distinguished himself with his antics and Serena Williams suggesting she could overcome laws of physics and anatomy by shoving a tennis ball down a line judge’s throat, perhaps what set the sports blogosphere the most ablaze was the Hall of Fame speech from his Airness, Michael Jordan. Something tells me that when this next pick, a two-time MVP, steps up to the podium, he will be nothing but gracious as he reflects on the good life that this game of basketball has given him.

Some might argue against his credentials for being a Hall-of-Famer, but I for one believe it is a no-brainer. Him, Amar’e Stoudemire and the rest of the “7 Seconds or Less” Phoenix Suns brought back fast-break fun to the league.

Round 2, Pick 6: Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns

Here are the numbers and league ranks for Nash last season.

Field Goal Percentage: 0.503 (23rd)
Free Throw Percentage: 0.933 (3rd)
Three-pointers Made: 108 (1.5 per game) (53rd)
Points: 15.7 (49th)
Rebounds: 3.0 (134th)
Assists: 9.7 (3rd)
Steals: 0.74 (94th)
Blocks: 0.1 (did not significantly rank)
Turnovers: 3.35 (3rd)

Fantasy hoops has to be about the numbers. Nash has been a popular player, but still there are some haters, and if you find yourself in this camp, you just have to put aside the fact that there were other worthy MVP-candidates when Nash went back-to-back. Age continues to creep up steadily on Nash, but he remains a money percentage player. No one in the league can match his combination of 50-plus FG%, 90-plus FT% and reliable three-point shooting. Steve Kerr has tinkered with the Suns lineup ever since he took the job as their general manager, and ultimate success has eluded both himself and the franchise. Optimism springs in the desert this year as the Suns should return to some semblance of their old run and gun style; this fact should give Nash a great opportunity to crack average double digits in dime dropping, as well as more moneyballs raining in from behind the arc.

The best fantasy point guards steal the rock more than the gang from the “Ocean’s 11” movies. Nash and his play on the defensive end, both in reality and in fantasy, remains sub-par. However, there are many steal specialists to be had in later rounds that can make up for this weakness in drafting Nash. Mario Chalmers, Russell Westbrook, Ron Artest, and Trevor Ariza come to mind, amongst others. Also, the turnovers are a necessary evil that accompany the huge assist numbers.

Admittedly there was some cheesiness factor involved when I considered teaming him with ex-teammate and buddy, Dirk Nowitzki. Yet, objectively speaking there is lots to like in this fantasy duo. That team would already look very formidable in FG%, FT%, and three-pointers, and Nash makes a team competitive in assists all by himself. Points is a category this team can take, provided some more pieces fall into place. Chauncey Billups, who was taken with the 5th pick in the second round, also provides a lot of the same goods, except of course, his FG% is not as good as Nash’s, but it is a virtual coin flip between these two proven point guards. Nash joins Danny Granger in this mock draft team. Nash is like ketchup, you can add him to anything and it might sound disgusting at first, but it will surprise you in how well the final product works out.

The Master List can be used to find players previously picked in this mock draft.