Steve Nash '96 Helps Light Olympic Flame

Steve Nash '96, who will start the 2010 NBA All-Star game on Sunday, helped Wayne Gretzky and three others light the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games Olympic Flame on Friday night in Vancouver.

Nash `96 will be making his seventh appearance in the 2010 NBA All-Star game on Sunday after receiving 1,222,235 votes, the eighth-highest total in 2010 All-Star voting. He will be joined by the Laker's Kobe Bryant as part of the Western Conference's backcourt. Nash is the only player from the West Coast Conference on the 2010 All-Star roster for both the NBAs Western and Eastern Conferences.

The 2010 All-Star game will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, before an expected crowd of more than 80,000 -- the largest group ever to witness a live basketball game -- on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.

The Bronco alum is a seven time all-star (2002-2003, 2005-2008, 2010) and was twice named the NBA MVP (2005 and `06).

Nash finished second in the 2006-07 MVP voting after garnering back-to-back NBA MVP awards the previous two seasons, joining Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan as the only other guards ever to accomplish this feat. Nash is shooting a career-best from the free-throw line this season; and is assists, and among league leaders in double-doubles, field goal percentage and free throw percentage. He averaged a career-best 11.6 assists in 2006-07. A veteran of the All-Star weekend, Nash won the 2005 NBA All-Star Skills Challenge. A three-time All-NBA First Team selection, he was selected by Phoenix in the first round (15th overall) of the 1996 NBA Draft after an illustrious career at Santa Clara where he led the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances, was twice named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and finished as the team's all-time leader in assists.